Secrets in the Past
by Winthrop1888
Summary: A chance occurrence introduced new cadets James Kirk and Leonard McCoy to the young, mysterious Annabelle Cassidy. Annie has the ability to do amazing things but can't recall anything before her thirteenth birthday. To answer the questions of her past, she will need the entire crew of the Enterprise. Will she be able to conquer her past? Or will it destroy the family she has found?
1. Chapter 1

**Here I am again! Bringing you another of my very long multi-chapter fics! This is one of my personal favorites that I have been keeping to myself for a long time. But I think it's time to share it. Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Star Trek or any affiliated characters or plots. Just the stuff that came from my imagination...**

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Annabelle Cassidy took a deep breath before leaving her dorm room. She ran her hand through her curly brown hair and stared at her petite frame in the mirror. The first day in a new place always seemed to terrify her. It happened when she entered high school and again when she headed to college. _But this should be different,_ she thought. Here they should accept her. And yet, even that gave her anxiety.

Annie didn't remember much of her childhood. Flashes here and there but not much. Her adoptive parents hadn't been much help either. They only knew what she knew, that she was a telekinetic; she could move things with her mind.

It was why she had joined Starfleet. It was a place she wouldn't be considered strange.

When she graduated college, she had received a call from Captain Pike asking if she would be willing to meet with him and the admiral of Starfleet. He told her that her abilities would be valued there. She had been hesitant at first but the admiral had promised her a place on Captain Pike's ship when she finished her time at the Academy and she had agreed.

The Admiral had therefore assigned her to train in every aspect she could; medical, xenolinguistics, navigation and engineering. She would then serve on the Enterprise, once the spacecraft had been completed, in any capacity needed and would be available should they need her abilities.

But the first day still scared her. Especially should anyone ask about her childhood because she didn't have anything to say and she feared what people would think.

"Come on, Annie," he roommate Sarah insisted. "We'll be late if you stand there, staring at the door any longer."

"We?" Annie asked. "Your first class isn't for another couple hours." She insisted.

"But you're going to need someone to walk with to your first class or you might never leave this room," Sarah laughed. "So let's go!"

Annie was overwhelmed with gratitude for her friend. They had met in college and although they were complete opposites, they were instant friends. Annie was tiny and boney while Sarah was tall and curvy. Annie had curly brown hair and Sarah had perfectly straight blonde hair. Sarah was the talented dancer and Annie was the talented brainiac. But most importantly, what Annie had in shyness, Sarah made up for ten-fold in her outgoing personality.

They left the building and started off to where Sarah insisted the medical building was. They walked for a few blocks before Annie began to doubt her friend's sense of direction. After they passed yet another nondescript building, Annie turned to her roommate.

"Are you sure you know where we're going?" She asked as the continued to walk.

"Nope," Sarah admitted. Annie stopped in her tracks and turned to her.

"Wait, what?" She started just as something hit her from behind causing all of her books and papers to fly from her hands.

Moments before, Jim Kirk had gotten out of his command training class early and, instead of wandering around aimlessly waiting for his next class, he decided to intercept his friend Leonard McCoy on his way to a medical training class in the hospital building.

He saw the dark-haired man in question walking across the lawn with a book and folder clenched tightly in his right hand. He made a bee-line right for the doctor and when Leonard saw Kirk, he only rolled his eyes.

"Shouldn't you be in class?" He grumbled.

"Naw, I got out early. Figured I'd come find a friendly face," he replied playfully.

"Then I sure as hell shouldn't be who you were looking for," McCoy only half meant. In all honesty, it felt kind of nice to have a friend already in Starfleet, even if he was the most annoying recruit alive.

"Cheer up Bones, you're gonna love it here and I know it!" Kirk bumped his friend.

"Dammit Jim, I told you to stop calling me Bones," Leonard bit back at him turning his attention to Kirk. However in doing so, he stopped looking ahead of himself and walked straight into a small woman dressed in cadet reds who had unwittingly stopped walking to yell at her own friend.

Leonard immediately crouched down to help pick up the strewn papers.

"I'm sorry, darlin'," he said. "I didn't see you there." Annie gave him a small smile.

"It's fine, I've got it," she answered as she quickly twisted her hand in a circle and all of the papers and books flew back into her arms, including the few Leonard had already picked up. The surprised looks on the two strangers' faces made Annie want nothing more but to run back to the dorms. They just stared for a moment before Sarah noticed how uncomfortable Annie looked.

"Hi, I'm Sarah Thompson and this is Annabelle Cassidy," her roommate introduced herself and Annie to the two men hoping to cut through the awkwardness.

"I'm Jim Kirk and this is Leonard McCoy," Jim replied sticking his hand out for the girls to shake. Leonard followed suit and Annie made a move to leave.

"Wait," Leonard called, causing her to turn back. "Are you headed to the medical building?" He asked. He had noticed that one of her books was the same as the one he was also carrying.

"Yeah," she answered a little sheepishly.

"But we are a little lost," Sarah chimed in nudging her friend. Annie shot her a confused glance.

"Well then why don't I walk with you?" McCoy asked. "That's where I'm headed now." Sarah noticed Annie's hesitation and answered for her.

"That sounds perfect because I really have to go," Sarah said and Annie turned to her again. Sarah nodded and Annie looked back at Leonard.

"I guess I'm coming with you," she said. Neither made any move to leave though as Leonard continued to study the small brunette.

"Well, I'm going to go," Sarah chimed and looked at Kirk. "Are you coming pretty boy?" She smirked.

"Sure," Jim said smacking Leonard on the back first. "See ya, Bones."

"Jim," Leonard hissed in a warning tone but proceeded to make his way to the medical building with Annie.

"What's with her?" Jim asked Sarah once they were out of earshot.

"She doesn't have a great track record with meeting new people, ya know, being different and all. So she just avoids meeting new people as much as possible. She's really nice once you get to know her," Sarah shrugged. Jim nodded and continued to walk with her.

In the mean time, as Leonard and Annie were walking in silence toward the medical building, he felt like he needed to say something to cut through how awkward he felt.

"So are you a nurse?" He asked. He instantly turned red in the face. _What a stupid, sexist question,_ he thought. "I'm sorry, that was a dumb question," he tried recovering.

"Um, no actually," Annie admitted.

"A doctor then?" He guessed.

"No," she answered. Leonard turned to her as they continued to walk. He studied her downcast expression wondering whether she was always so quiet or simply shy around new people.

"You don't talk much, do you darlin'?" He asked then. Annie blushed and looked at him for the first time, tilting her head a little in thought.

"Well, you see, I don't know," she answered honestly. She looked back down at her books. "Sarah says I talk too much when it's just me and her or someone I know but not a lot when it's someone new." She paused to think about the idea. "I suppose I'm just not used to talking to someone new who wants to talk to me. Usually people see what I can do and start running." Annie shrugged and continued on.

"And that happens a lot?" He inquired.

"Kind of. Sometimes people are afraid of what I can do, or they think it makes me strange, inhuman even. I guess I just have a harder time making friends. It's okay, though, I don't have to worry about having fake friends," Annie explained. She waited for Leonard to say anything but for a few moments he only scowled. "I'm sorry maybe that was too much information. I don't usually tell people my life's story in the first hour." Leonard shook his head.

"No, it was more than you've said the whole time we've been walking," he laughed. "But I just can't believe that's happened to you."

"Well, that's why I have Sarah," Annie added with a small smile finally looking back at him. "She's kind of my buffer to the world. Although I don't know what she's doing here. She's been a ballerina as long as I've known her. I guess she's just biding her time for her big break." Leonard chuckled a little.

"Well, darlin' I can assure you that you won't have that issue with me, or Jim for that matter," he assured her. "We've both been spit out by the wrong end of life ourselves." She smiled at him.

"Thank you," she whispered and they fell into silence again. Leonard thought maybe he had scared her off so he tried to continue the conversation.

"So, if you aren't a doctor or a nurse, why are you taking an advanced medical class?" He asked.

"I'm just taking as many classes as I can to be able to assist in as many capacities as I can," came her answer.

"Really?" He asked in surprise. "You don't want to specialize in anything?"

"It's not that, it's just that being a telekinetic, the Academy Board figured that it's just best if I can work anywhere, ya know, apply my abilities and stuff."

"Wow," Leonard marveled. "Wait, telekinetic, like moving things with your mind right? That's the trick you did with the books and papers back there." Annie nodded.

"That's about what it boils down to. There are some species from other planets that can do it but not many humans that have the ability. None, actually, that I know of. That's why the board was excited that I joined Starfleet. But to be honest, it's not like I had too many more places to go."

"Because everyone thinks you're different?" He guessed. Annie nodded. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I didn't have anywhere else to go either."

"I don't know if it makes it better," she admitted. "What happened?"

"My ex-wife took everything but my bones in the divorce," he replied simply.

"Is that why your friend calls you Bones?" She asked. Leonard snorted.

"Yep, that's it," he said and she nodded. They continued a few more yards before coming up to the medical building. "Here we are." He opened the door for her.

"Thank you for walking with me," she said. "Sarah would have had me in the next town."

"The pleasure is all mine, Annabelle," he replied. She moved to walk through the door but stopped for a moment. She looked up at him.

"Annie," she corrected. "My friends call me Annie." Leonard smiled and Annie noted to herself that the man had a rather dazzling smile.

"Annie, then. Shall we?" and he ushered her inside.


	2. Chapter 2

The first year came to a close much faster than Annie had expected. She figured it had to do with the fact that she had friends to spend her free time with.

She had always had Sarah but now they often went out with a xenolinguist named Uhura and her roommate Gaila to the bars to go dancing. Annie had never expected to enjoy dancing in public, but surrounded by her friends, she didn't mind being in a room with so many strangers.

Uhura had also proven a close friend in their class time. They both shared a love of the galaxy and exploring and often conversed in different alien languages to keep people from listening in on their conversations. Uhura relished in the fact that she had someone other than her instructors to practice her dialects with.

Annie found she had an knack for xenolinguistics herself. Sometimes she felt as if she already knew many of the languages and was only just remembering them. She knew it was absurd but it was the only thing that accounted for her ability to pick up new languages in weeks.

Then there were the Jim and Leonard. Annie often admitted to Uhura and Sarah that she had never met two people she felt so comfortable around as Jim Kirk and Leonard McCoy.

Annie found Jim's ambition and determination thrilling. He would often accompany her on walks around campus and he would talk for hours about his adventures and his plans. Annie was grateful for these hours when no one expected her to talk and keep up a conversation. She could simply listen to him and nod when appropriate.

Sometimes when Jim was dealing with a student or a class that he didn't particularly like, he would rant for hours and Annie would simply listen. Jim was amazed at how attentive she was. She never seemed to zone him out or stop listening. She simply walked along or sat with him and listened to every word. And when he was finished, her reassuring smile always made him feel better.

Her time with the gruff, southern doctor was often very different. Sometimes they sat in the library together and studied separately. No one spoke and again it was an aspect for which Annie was extremely grateful. Other times she would sit with him while he was on shift in the medical building. She would ask about his childhood and what led him to Starfleet and for once, he didn't despise the questions.

He told her all about his family and even about his previous marriage. He had been so bitter about it when it happened but talking about it with Annie, he realized it wasn't all terrible. He didn't understand how her quiet questions and silent listening could make him feel more positive but he didn't mind it.

Sometimes they would even talk about his aviaphobia and her fear of new people and uncomfortable situations. No matter the topic that would come up, Leonard was always glad to see Annie come walking into the hospital or meeting him in the library.

Annie also found herself become far more talkative in her time spent with Doctor McCoy. Where she was the listener with Jim, she was the talker with Leonard. She would tell him about the few memories she had and her adoptive parents. She told him about her disastrous first days every time she started somewhere new and when he would chuckle at her stories, she would find that she wasn't self-conscious about them anymore.

She began to open up more with all of her friends in time. She went out even more and found that the next year no longer scared her. So when Sarah told her that everyone was headed to the bar to celebrate the end of the year, Annie was far more inclined to agree. It only took Sarah a bit of convincing.

"Okay fine, I was going to wait until later but you are giving me no choice, we are going out to celebrate," Sarah explained as Annie turned her down for the third time.

"Yes, the end of the year, I know," Annie said. "Which means there's going to be lots of people there. I'd rather stay here." Sarah shook her head.

"No! I'm leaving Starfleet! I got a call from the ballet company I sent that tape to. They want me to join their company! I leave tomorrow to start rehearsals!" Sarah exclaimed. Annie took a moment before breaking into a wide smile.

"Oh my god, that's fantastic!" She squealed.

"I was going to reveal it to everyone all at once but you've never made anything easy have you?" Sarah joked.

"No," Annie admitted as she rushed to embrace her friend. "Well, then let's go!" Annie was about to leave when Sarah stopped her.

"You can't wear that!" She exclaimed, indicating Annie's red cadet uniform.

"Oh, who cares? We've gone out in our reds before," Annie objected. Sarah laughed.

"But the year is over! Street clothes are a must!" She cheered and Annie laughed herself.

"And what would you suggest I wear?" She asked. Sarah stopped laughing and narrowed her eyes. Annie had a point. Her collection of t-shirts and sweaters simply wouldn't do, not for an occasion this special. Then she had an idea. She ran over and pulled out Annie's tightest pair of jeans.

"Where is the long scarf I gave you for your birthday last year?" She asked. Annie looked confused but dug it out and handed it to her friend. Sarah quickly folded it and tied the ends together as Annie pulled on the jeans.

Sarah held out the now folded and tied scarf and handed it to her roommate.

"Put your head in there and your arm here," she instructed. Once Annie had it in place, it hung off her like a shawl and cut off just before her midriff.

"How the heck?" Annie asked. Sarah shook her head.

"A magician never reveals," she said. Annie laughed as she shook her head and the girls headed out.

Jim was bugging Uhura about not knowing her name when they arrived. Uhura looked like she was glad for the distraction.

"Annie! Sarah! It's good to see you!" She greeted. Annie noticed that Jim was eyeing her with an amused look.

"What?" She asked. Jim smiled and shook his head.

"Nothing, you look good," he replied and Annie smiled.

"Thanks," she said as she turned to the bartender to order a drink. She turned around and almost spilled her drink on Bones.

"I'm sorry," she started before she saw who it was. He chuckled and she felt herself blush.

"Why do we keep doing this?" He asked and she shook her head.

"At least this time it's my fault," she replied. He reached up and touched her cheek briefly before he leaned past her. He put down some money to pay for Annie as he ordered his own drink. "You didn't have to do that."

"A southern gentleman always pays for the ladies," he chuckled. She playfully nudged him and made her way back over to Uhura, Gaila and Sarah.

"What was that about?" Sarah cooed and Annie blushed.

"Nothing," she whispered.

"Oh sweetheart that did not look like nothing!" Uhura interjected. "That looked like something!"

"Len and I are just friends!" she insisted.

"Sure like Jim and I aren't sleeping together!" Gaila hiccuped a bit too loudly. The girls looked over at Jim and proceeded to start laughing hysterically.

"Seriously?" Sarah asked. Gaila nodded turning a shade of red they hadn't thought possible on her green skin. "Well then I gotta ask on behalf of girls everywhere, how is he?" Gaila blushed even more.

"Really damn good!" She shouted and they all laughed again. They didn't notice that Jim and Leonard had started to make their way over to them.

"What are you girls laughing about?" Jim asked in curiosity. The girls started into another fit of laughter. Annie took a sip of her fruity drink.

"Whether or not you're good in bed," Sarah said seductively trying to get a rise out of him. She was leaning heavily into him before she suddenly backed away. "Annie wanted to know," she joked and Annie spit out her drink.

"I didn't. Not that I didn't want to know, but, I mean, I didn't, it just came up and, sure, I was curious, but, I mean, we all were and..." She trailed off blushed harder than Gaila had been.

"I'm just kidding," Sarah said squeezing her arm. She turned to Jim. "Gaila spilled the beans." Jim finally nodded.

"Oh," he replied. He looked a little disappointed and Annie wasn't sure why. Gaila was very pretty. The girl in question just stood there giggling like a fool.

"Oops," she hiccuped as she continued to laugh. Uhura sighed and shook her head.

"Anyway," Uhura said. "We are here to celebrate Sarah's getting out of here."

"You knew?" Annie gasped. Uhura laughed.

"Girl, I planned this whole thing!" She exclaimed raising her arms to gesture to all their friends there.

"Knew what?" Jim asked looking from Annie to Uhura and back again.

"I'm leaving Starfleet! I got an offer to join a ballet company!" Sarah squealed.

"Well congratulations!" He said raising a glass. Sarah beamed and hugged each of her friends in turn. Uhura then set her drink down on the bar.

"Come on," she said. "We came here to dance didn't we?" Sarah nodded in excitement and dragged Annie along with her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Oh my goodness! So I've decided to post another chapter today because this is the most responses to a story I've ever gotten on the first day(ish). So here ya go!**

 **Also shout out to TimeTrekker my first reviewer and to those following the story already! I do love hearing your comments!**

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Several songs later, Annie decided to take a break from all the dancing. She and Sarah headed back to the bar to get another drink. Sarah nudged Annie as they were sitting down at the bar.

"He really does like you," she whispered nodding her head down the bar.

"Who?" Annie asked looking in the direction that Sarah was indicating. All she saw was Leonard and Jim conversing at the other end of the bar.

"The doctor, anyone can see it," she answered laughing. Annie shook her head just as Bones glanced back at her. She quickly blushed and looked away. "Do you want me to prove it?" Sarah offered. Annie gave her a confused look.

"How?" She inquired.

"I'm gonna get him to dance with me," Sarah explained. "You count how many times he looks back at you. If it's any more than two, I've made my point." Annie shook her head and watched Sarah make her way to Bones and Jim. She failed to hear what Sarah said but watched as Jim laughed and practically pushed Leonard away as Sarah dragged him onto the floor with Jim in tow.

Annie couldn't help but laugh at how out of place Bones looked. It was like he was doing anything to avoid touching Sarah and Annie knew that her roommate wouldn't stand for that. As she pulled his hands to her waist, he glanced back at Annie. She shrugged and laughed a little.

 _One,_ she thought. Annie twirled the straw in her drink and looked over to where Jim was wrapped around Gaila. Annie shook her head and Jim glanced her direction. Annie immediately thought it was nothing but Sarah's words made her wonder if Jim's glance was also meant to indicate something more as well.

Instead of dwelling on it, Annie turned her attention back to Leonard and Sarah as he looked in her direction again. Annie was a bit surprised but figured it was just a fluke. She quickly looked down at her drink and swirled her straw around a few more times. Maybe what Sarah had said was true after all. She wanted to look again, just out of curiosity, when a large man sat down at the bar next to her.

"Well, hello there," he said, drawing her attention to him. "Shouldn't a pretty girl like you be dancing?" Annie shrugged. He reached over and put his hand on her knee. "Then I guess it's a good thing I came to keep you company," he said.

Annie turned a little to get out of his grip.

"Oh come on, loosen up," he said as she looked back at her friends dancing. She moved to get up to rejoin them when the man reached his hand again to grip her waist, pushing her back into the seat. "Don't you get it? Those people you call friends may be laughing now but the minute they see what you really are, they're gonna run like hell. But not me. You're just the kind of challenge I'm after."

He moved his hand to the inside of her thigh. She quickly sent an empty glass from the bar towards his head. It collided with the side of his temple and shattered, causing him to fall to the floor. She took his moment of disorientation to get up to leave the bar but she wasn't fast enough. He turned and grabbed her arm. Pulling her back to him, he back-handed her across the face.

"Hey!" yelled Jim as he came from behind the man and knocked him into the bar. "Leave her alone." Sarah ran to her side to make sure she was okay. Annie looked over at her but Sarah noticed that she looked like she was deep in thought.

"We were just having a little fun," the man sneered.

"Well, the fun's over, get the hell out of here," Bones said, helping Jim force the man outside. Eventually the man stopped resisting and left of his own accord. Everyone turned their attention back to Annie who still looked like she was trying to work something out in her mind.

"I'm sorry, I have to go," Annie said in a small voice as she grabbed her purse and walked out. Sarah, Jim and Bones shared confused glances as they headed after her, followed by Uhura and Gaila who had finally sobered up a little.

They found Annie sitting on the grass outside the bar making rocks fly around in front of her. They walked around her and Jim crouched down to her.

"I'm sorry, I hope I'm not ruining your night," she started.

"No," he said. "Not at all. What's wrong?" Leonard also crouched down to get a better look at the bruise that was forming on the right side of her face. He carefully took her face in his hands and she tilted her head slightly to let him.

"Nothing is really wrong," she answered. She paused a moment watching the pebbles dance in the air. "I just have a question is all." Jim raised his eyebrows at her but said nothing so she continued. Annie set the small rocks down. "My abilities, do they frighten you at all? Like, are you worried about what I can do, the damage I could cause?" Jim snapped his attention up at her and Bones stopped inspecting her head.

"Annie, where is this coming from?" She looked down at the floor and refused to meet his eye.

"It's just something that guy said to me at the bar. He said that you all would run at the first sight of what I can really do."

"Why would he say that?" Kirk wondered aloud.

"I don't know. But he has a point. You don't know what I can do. I don't even know that," she continued to admit. Jim felt anger rising in him. This was perhaps the most innocent and quiet person he had ever met. He marveled that anyone could say something so cruel to her.

"Why didn't you say something then, when Jim and I were chasing him away?" Bones asked.

"I didn't want you guys to get into a fight and get in trouble," she answered. "I'm not worth the trouble you would get in." Her words made Leonard's heart sink a little. He looked over at Jim and could tell he thought the same thing.

"You are worth ever bar fight I've ever gotten into," Jim assured her. "You of all people deserve to be defended for all the things you do for other people. Don't you forget that." She nodded and wrapped him into a hug.

"Thank you," she whispered. When she pulled away, he saw that she had a small smile on her face. It was small but he was relieved to see it. She kissed him lightly on the cheek.

She then turned and hugged Leonard, kissing his cheek as well.

"It's not like he hurt me," Annie insisted. "It just got me thinking is all." Sarah sat down next to her. She wrapped her arms around her friend.

"Didn't hurt you, my ass, that is going to bruise pretty deeply," Leonard responded pointing to her right cheek. "Make sure you put ice on that." Annie nodded, feeling Sarah start to stand up.

"Come on, let's go home," she said. Annie looked up at her roommate and stood up. They said their farewells to their friends and everyone agreed to meet up the following day to see Sarah off. As the girls walked back to their room, Annie turned to her friend.

"I'm sorry if I ruined your night," she whispered. She was surprised when Sarah started laughing.

"Are you kidding? This has been the most excitement I've seen in forever!" Sarah exclaimed. "Did you see Jim deck that creep? He hit the bar so hard it hurt me! But you got him first with that glass! How did you think of that?" Annie shrugged.

"I've seen bar fights in movies and guys usually break beer bottles over each other. I figured it was the same thing," she replied.

"Well, it was brilliant! And besides, you kissed them both tonight! I mean, I knew the doctor had it bad but the way pretty boy was looking at you, you're gonna have a cat fight on your hands! How did you get so lucky?" Sarah rambled.

Annie suddenly realized how drunk Sarah had been this whole time. She would have laughed if her roommate's words weren't stuck in her head. Surely she was wrong about Jim and Leonard; it had to be the alcohol. Annie quickly put it from her mind as they reached their door.

"Come on, let's get to bed," she suggested as she opened the door.


	4. Chapter 4

No one spoke of the bar incident again but the next time anyone convinced Annie to go out, she was far more careful not to be left alone.

Annie was also pleasantly surprised to find that the Academy never assigned her a new roommate. It turned out that Sarah had left her one final gift before leaving by pleading on her behalf not to give her another roommate. She told the board that given Annie's abilities, it would be difficult for someone else to adjust to living with her. Initially, Annie had been unsure of what she had meant but Sarah had laughed on the phone.

"Are you complaining? It worked right?" She had asked and Annie couldn't argue with her there.

The next two years flew by and Annie found herself weeks away from being ready for duty aboard the Enterprise. She was asked to sit in on another Kobyoshi Maru test that afternoon and she quickly realized that Jim was going to take the test for the third time.

Annie took her seat in the surveillance bay above the simulator next to Spock. She had been sitting in on the test for the last year with Commander Spock though she wasn't sure of what he intended her to get out of it. The test always went the same way; the ship is attacked, everyone dies.

She watched as Jim took his seat and Uhura started the simulation. She was a bit surprised when Jim didn't seem to care that the simulation Klingons were attacking.

"Do you know why we keep having you sit in on the test?" Spock leaned over and asked. Annie thought for a moment.

"Well the point of the test is to assess a captain's reactions in a dire situation, so then you probably want me to assess the different captains. Decide who I want to work with," she answered.

"Correct, it is logical for you to choose the captain you can trust most," Spock replied, turning his attention back to the simulation.

"But what I don't know is why you feel it's necessary. I made my decision a long time ago to join the Enterprise and I intend to stay there," she finished knowing full well that Spock would be the first officer on the ship. He turned to her looking pleased, if a Vulcan could do such a thing. She nodded in return just as the screens blacked out.

They came back on moments later and Spock rose to his feet. Within minutes, the Klingons were destroyed and Jim had beat the simulation.

"How the hell did that kid beat your test?" A moderator asked Spock.

"I have no idea," he said. He punched a few keys on the screen in front of him. "As I suspected. Call all cadets to the Academy board room. I am going to formally charge Cadet Kirk with changing the parameters of the test."

"Yes sir," the moderator replied. Annie snuck out the door and took off towards auditorium.

She was slightly out of breath when she met Leonard and Jim at the entrance of the room.

"Jim, Commander Spock is charging you with cheating," she warned. "That's why they've called us in." Leonard turned to Jim looking mildly pissed off.

"Who the hell is Commander Spock?" He asked. Annie looked at him incredulously.

"The one who programs the test," she replied. Jim ran a hand through his hair.

"Dammit Jim, what were you thinking?" Bones grumbled.

"Come on, I'll figure this out," Jim insisted.

* * *

The resulting hearing seemed to be more senseless arguing than actual deliberating. Annie silently thanked whoever was watching over them that another cadet ran in to interrupt the hearing. He whispered something inaudible to the board president who stiffened considerably.

"There's been a distress signal from Vulcan," the board president said. "All cadets are to report to the hanger for assignment." Annie got up quickly and turned to Bones.

"I have to head straight to the Enterprise. Make sure he's okay," she said indicating Jim.

"Wait, how do you already know?" He asked, stopping her.

"I've known since I started. I'll explain later," she replied quickly leaning in to kiss his cheek.

She was only on the shuttle for a few minutes before Bones stormed onto the ship dragging Jim with him. Annie was surprised but pleased to see that they had been assigned to the Enterprise as well, but she had to admit that Jim looked like death.

"What happened?" She asked. Leonard shook his head.

"Don't ask," he replied. Annie got up to help Bones maneuver Jim into a seat across the aisle. Then they took their seats in the row next to him. Annie made Bones take the window seat since she knew that he would be more comfortable there.

"Thank you," he whispered and she smiled. A few moments later, the shuttle took off and Annie felt a faint for a moment as her vision clouded. Leonard was surprised as Annie's hand suddenly grip his own. She immediately removed it, shaking her head as he looked at her.

"Sorry," she said in a small voice. Leonard raised his eyebrows at her, looking slightly confused.

"Is everything okay?" he asked her. She nodded though he thought he saw her hesitate slightly.

"Yeah, I've just never been in a ship that's taken off before," she attempted with a weak smile. But it was a lie. She was afraid he knew it too. She had been on plenty of ships before and every time, the same thing happened. _It's just a small dizzy spell,_ she justified to herself. She waited for him to call her bluff but he gave her a small smile and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

She then caught sight of the space station.

"Oh, wow," she said. Leonard turned to where she was looking. He couldn't help but stare too. "Jim, Jim look!" she exclaimed to the man on her other side. Kirk groaned but turned his head to look at her.

"I'm gonna throw up," he whined until he saw what she was indicating. "Whoa," he said, temporarily forgetting how ill he felt.

They watched out the window until the transport docked. Leonard grabbed Kirk to drag him to the medical bay as Annie followed closely behind.


	5. Chapter 5

The ship finally took off at warp as Annie helped Leonard get Jim to the medical bay. They had just sat him down when a dizzy spell hit her once again. This one was more intense and she had to grip the biobed to stay upright. Her vision blurred for only a moment but it was long enough for the doctor to finish sedating Kirk and notice her.

"Whoa, now," he said reaching for her. He gripped her shoulders tightly. "Annie look at me." She did as he asked and Leonard noticed it took a moment for her eyes to focus. "Tell me what's wrong." She considered answering him for a moment but shrugged him off.

"Nothing, Len, I'm fine," she replied. In reality she was... now.

"Dammit, Annie," he muttered.

"Leonard, trust me, it's nothing." She lightly touched his shoulder and pulled away from his grip. He scowled as she left the medical bay to take up her post.

Annie wandered through the ship until she found and took her seat next to Uhura.

"How are you feeling?" She asked knowing about Annie's dizzy spells. They had discussed them one day while practicing their Klingon. It was the same day, Uhura revealed her secret relationship with their current first officer. They were secrets the girls had both agreed to keep.

"Fine but Len was there when I had one," she admitted. "He's going to want answers."

"It's only because he cares," her friend insisted.

"Perhaps, but-"

"Attention," Pavel Chekov, a young boy she had met in the academy, announced over the channel interrupting the girls. He proceeded to describe the situation. Annie quickly realized that a lot of the friends that she had made at the Academy had been assigned to the Enterprise. She silently thanked whoever was in charge of that decision. When he had finished, Annie looked uneasily at Uhura.

"Why do I get the feeling nothing is really as easy as this sounds?" She asked. Nyota shrugged.

"Because nothing ever is. But this can't be too bad right? Just a natural disaster." Now it was Annie's turn to shrug.

"Dammit Jim, I need you to slow down!" Came a gruff voice Annie immediately recognized. The girls turned around in surprise to look at the approaching men.

"Uhura!" Jim yelled. He then started rambling which became almost intelligible as whatever McCoy was doing to him numbed his tongue. All Uhura understood was "Romulan". When she confirmed that it was the language of the intermission she had intercepted, Jim took off again with Uhura, Leonard and Annie in tow.

Annie was surprised by Jim's insistence that they were headed into a trap and Uhura's confirmation of the Romulan message made it seem so clear. She looked over at Uhura who had turned a little pale.

"Is he right?" Annie mouthed.

"I think so," Nyota mouthed back.

"And Spock?" Annie asked.

Uhura just shrugged, sending her a look that clearly meant it was Jim's fault. Annie almost laughed.

"He's not wrong," Annie added.

"Lieutenant Cassidy," Annie heard the Captain say, calling back her attention. "You'll go with Sulu and Kirk. They may need your abilities on the drill." Annie nodded. She moved to follow Captain Pike but was stopped by Uhura.

"You don't know what beaming will do to you. If warping makes you dizzy..." She trailed off.

"We won't know until we try," Annie answered.

* * *

She landed on the drill after all the others. Her body mass was much smaller so she fell slower than Kirk or Sulu. When she landed, she noticed that Kirk was losing to a Romulan. Thinking quickly, she comm-ed for Kirk to let the Romulan push him over the edge.

"What?!" Kirk yelled. He took another swing at the foe but it glanced off and he had to take another step back.

"Trust me!" She urged him. So he allowed the charging Romulan to push him over, causing the Romulan to fall as well. Kirk shut his eyes so as to not watch himself fall but quickly noticed he wasn't falling at all

He opened his eyes and realized he was levitating a few feet away from the drill. He quickly scrambled back to the drill surface. He could only recover a short amount of time before he was attacked by another Romulan and saw that Annie was engaged with one as well.

He managed to fight that one off a bit easier and turned in time to see Annie best her opponent and Sulu to throw his off balance. Sulu lunged forward to push the Romulan off but lost his balance in the process. Kirk ran to help Sulu back up and Annie took a moment to breathe. She was relieved that they had succeeded.

Finally, Annie realized that the charges, which Sulu had been in possession of earlier, were nowhere to be found. Then she remembered that they had said his landing had been less that smooth and the charges had been lost.

"What to we do now?" She asked. Jim looked down and saw two guns the Romulans had left behind. He turned to Sulu.

"Follow me," he said as he grabbed one and moved toward the base of the drill. Kirk and Sulu began to shoot all at once and Annie felt it slowly stop whirring. Kirk then proceeded go hail the Enterprise to beam them up. She looked at Jim who smiled for a moment.

Then suddenly his eyes grew wide and he yelled, "Annie watch out!" But it was too late and a Romulan they hadn't noticed back-handed her, knocking her out and sending her over the edge.

Not bothering to go after the remaining enemy, Kirk launched himself off the edge after her, followed closely by Sulu. He caught up to her in the air and grabbed on. Sulu did the same.

"Enterprise beam us up, Annie's hurt," Jim said. He told Sulu to try pulling his shoot but it detached. He became more frantic as they neared the ground. "Enterprise, we're falling without a shoot!"

Sulu began to worry they weren't going to make it but sure enough, the lights began to swirl and they landed on the transportation pad.

Jim scooped Annie into his arms to head to the med-bay. He was blown past by Spock who was headed down to Vulcan. Jim paused to try to reason with him and tell him it was a suicide mission but he knew it would be of no use. So he nodded and ran to bring Annie to the medical bay.

He burst through the doors and set Annie down on a bed near where Bones was working on another officer. His face hardened when he saw his unconscious friend.

"Good God, Jim, what happened to her?" Bones asked, worry overcoming his features.

"It was a Romulan. I didn't see him in time," Kirk answered quickly. "He hit her pretty hard."

"I can see that!" McCoy snapped. She pulled our a scanner to check her vitals.

"I have to get back to the bridge," Jim said. Leonard nodded and Jim left the doctor alone with an unconscious Annie.


	6. Chapter 6

Annie woke up in the medical bay as Leonard was called to the bridge. He had been sitting by her waiting for her to wake up, moving only to check the injured Vulcans that beamed aboard and to report the status to Spock. He had also watched Kirk get thrown off the ship but he quickly returned to her bedside. He didn't know why he couldn't stop checking her vitals every few minutes but he had to do something. Kirk getting marooned on Delta Vega also didn't calm his nerves any so when the call came in, he stormed out of the room wordlessly.

Annie moved to get up but realized her limbs wouldn't move. As he left, she remained motionless and watched him go.

Leonard was furious at Jim. Not only had he challenged Spock into kicking him off the ship, but he made Leonard choose between the ship and his friend. He wondered how Jim thought pissing the Vulcan off was going to help them.

To top it off, Annie was still unconscious. Getting hit from behind shouldn't usually knock someone out for so long and Bones wondered if there wasn't something else going on.

Suddenly, he had arrived on the bridge and Bones rolled his eyes thinking about what the Vulcan captain wanted.

"You wanted to see me?" He asked as he entered. Spock looked up at him and nodded.

"Yes," he replied. "I wanted to thank you for the loyalty you displayed earlier. I know it could not have been easy." Leonard didn't know how to respond.

"May I speak freely?" He asked.

"I welcome it," Spock insisted.

"Oh really?" Bones muttered rolling his eyes a little. "Alright then, are you out of your Vulcan mind?" He began.

* * *

In the meantime, Annie finally started to regain the motion of her limbs and she sat up. Just then, the Doctor came storming in. When he saw her, he rushed over to the bed she was on.

"Annie, how do you feel?" Leonard asked. He lightly gripped her face to get a better look at her eyes. Annie blinked a few times before answering.

"I'm okay, Len, it's just a little headache is all," she replied. She unconsciously reached up and placed her hands over his own. They looked at each other for a moment and Leonard allowed himself to be relieved that she was okay.

A few more seconds passed before Leonard heard Spock announce that there were intruders on the ship. Then he became conscious of her hands lightly gripping his own. Annie seemed to notice it too because she immediately blushed and pulled her hands away.

"I have to go to the bridge and check this out," he whispered. Annie nodded.

"I'll go with you," she replied.

"I don't know," he began to protest but Annie stopped him quickly, already rising from the bed.

"I'm fine, and they might need me," she insisted. "But I appreciate your concern." She leaned up and placed a small kiss on his cheek. It was a small gesture that she had begun with both Leonard and Jim since the bar incident. They had become accustomed to it over the past couple years and it had become a silent form of reassurance between her and them; just small pecks on the cheek that signified how close their friendship was. Jim and Bones often returned the gesture by kissing her in return, either on the cheek or on her temple. None of them usually thought anything of it. But this time, as she walked away, Leonard felt himself blush as he took off after her.

By the time they reached the bridge, Jim and Scotty had already been dragged in. Annie wasn't sure why Jim was instigating Spock but she knew by his comments, he was doing it to achieve some end.

That end came sooner than expected when Spock struck Kirk and proceeded to hit him over and over. Annie saw that Kirk, though a fairly experienced fighter, was unable to compensate for Spock's Vulcan strength.

Before Spock could do any more damage, Annie trapped both in separate force fields. Spock hit the force field a few times before his father spoke up. The younger Vulcan's eyes grew wide at his outburst of emotion and when she was sure they were done hitting each other, Annie dropped both fields.

Spock then resigned his post and left the bridge in silence. Uhura watched him go with worry but every other eye on the bridge was on Annie who blushed furiously.

"You can do that?" Jim asked.

"Yes, static electricity in the air can be manipulated to make temporary force fields. It can be useful," Annie answered.

"I'll say," McCoy noted. Jim shook his head before taking up the captain's seat.

"I hope you know what you're doing, captain," Uhura warned him as she headed back to her seat.

"I hope so too," Jim answered honestly. Annie saw the uncertainty flash across his features as she moved past him to take her own seat. She paused only a moment to squeeze his arm as she passed to show her support.

She also squeezed Uhura's hand.

"He'll be okay," she whispered.

"I know but this is really hard for him and that was..." Uhura started.

"Brutal, I agree. But I trust Jim with my life. I have faith he knows what to do," Annie finished. Uhura nodded and turned back to her screen and Kirk announced that he was going after Nero and his ship.

Debates immediately began over what the best course of action was. Bones was adamant that Nero would destroy them on sight. Kirk insisted that it was their only choice. Scotty kept yelling about the ability of the ship to keep up and survive an attack. Annie decided not to chime in but instead help Chekov find a good place to hide the ship.

The seventeen year old had become like a little brother to her. Neither exactly fit in right away; him because of his age and her because of her powers. So they had bonded in their navigation classes. Annie was amazed by the intelligence that exuded from the boy. She had been thrilled to find out that he had been assigned to the Enterprise.

"What was the distance of Nero from Vulcan when he attacked?" Annie asked the kid. He typed in a few equations until a large number appeared on the screen.

"If he uses the same deestance, he vill have to stop in Mars's orbit," Pavel concluded.

"And what planet would be closest when we arrive?" She asked.

"Saturn," Pavel confirmed.

"Perfect," she said as she typed her own equation onto the screen. "The magnetic force of the rings should cancel our signal and hide us." Pavel's eyes lit up.

"You're right!" She furiously typed onto the screen. "And this is how ve can do it! Captain!" He exclaimed turning to the arguing crew members. "Ve've got it!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Ya'll seriously rock! I'm overwhelmed by the positive feedback on this story. This chapter will get us through the end of the first movie. This fanfiction runs all the way through Into Darkness and I do have it set up to be able to go through the new movie (Beyond) but pbviously I haven't seen it yet. Also, be forewarned that the story gets a bit darker once Annie's past starts to be revealed. Thank you all for your support and I will post a couple chapters today! Happy Reading!**

* * *

Annie didn't like that Jim wouldn't let her go with them onto the Romulan ship but she did have to admit that her head still hurt a little and Bones was probably right about her having a concussion. Besides, he had left her with the con and she knew that she had to stay.

Bones stayed on the bridge with her, watching the vitals of Kirk and Spock.

"Shouldn't we be closer?" Sulu asked her. She shook her head.

"Not yet, the drill would interfere with our beaming capabilities. We need to wait for it to be disabled. Uhura, I need you to switch Jim and Spock's comms off," she began to order. Leonard was surprised at her vigor and ability to lead.

"But then we can't hear them or talk to them," Uhura argued. Annie turned to her and looked her square in the eye, pleading with her to listen.

"Leaving the communication function on will drain the power and give off their location to the Romulans. For now we know where they are," she explained. Uhura nodded and turned back to her screen.

"Consider it done," she said. Annie waited a few moments. She took a seat in the captain's chair as Chekov turned to her.

"The drill is down!" He cheered. Annie smiled.

"Warp to their location, lets come out firing," she ordered. Annie made sure she was leaning on her arm in the chair when they did to mask the dizziness she would feel. Luckily, no one noticed her zone out for a minute.

The ship came out of warp in time to take out the missiles headed for Spock.

"Scotty, beam them back!" She comm-ed the Scotsman.

"Aye, lass," came his reply. Bones and Annie took off toward the beaming pad. They got there just in time as Spock beamed in with Jim who was half-carrying Captain Pike.

"Jim!" Bones shouted, reaching for Pike. Another officer grabbed the other side and Annie followed, checking the captain's vitals.

She knew they were about to go into warp but since she was currently helping Bones get Pike into the medical bay, she knew she couldn't hide from him. They had just gotten Pike into a surgery room when Annie's vision went black.

Leonard watched in surprise as Annie dropped to the floor. He rushed over to help her up. "Annie, you have to tell me what is going on," he said to her. Annie placed her hand lightly on his cheek.

"Len, when we get back, I swear I will explain everything. But right now, you need to save Pike. I can handle this." Leonard shook his head as he scowled.

"Fine, but this is not the end of it." Annie nodded and stood up.

* * *

It only took a few minutes to reach the space station and another twenty minutes to land at Headquarters. Each crew member was debriefed and headed back to their rooms at the academy or their respective homes.

Leonard tried to reach Annie before she left but he had just missed her when he got out. He did, however, manage to run into Jim.

"Jim, have you seen Annie?" He asked.

"No, Bones, I haven't," he answered. "Why?" Something in the doctor's expression made him worry.

"Something's wrong and she won't tell me what it is." Jim's eyes grew wide.

"Then, let's find her. Everyone else went to their rooms, she's probably in hers now." The two men took off in the direction of the dorm buildings.

When they arrived, the door was already ajar and they could hear humming from inside. Jim pushed the door open.

"Annie?" He called. She sat in her chair holding a book in her hands.

"It took you both long enough," she snickered. Jim laughed a little and Leonard stood silent looking amused. It took him only a moment to recover.

"Annie, you promised that you would tell me what was going on with you when we got back," the doctor started, "and now we're back." Annie sighed setting her book on the table.

"You may want to sit down, it's a long story." They did as she asked and she hesitated before she began to explain. "I lied to you before," she said. "I have been on a ship before. And the dizzy spells have happened before as well."

"Dizzy spells?" Leonard asked but she held up her hand to stop him.

"I believe they are a side effect of my abilities. Being a telekinetic comes with a few drawbacks. One of them is random dizzy spells. Lately, they've been occuring when a ship takes off or goes into warp." Annie waited for one of them to say something.

"So you, what, get a little dizzy? That's nothing big right?" Jim asked.

"A little dizzy my ass, she almost passed out that last time," Leonard interjected. "You know you have to tell Starfleet about this."

"No!" Annie and Jim both said in unison. They looked at each other for a moment. Then Jim looked back at Bones.

"They'll ground her," Jim reasoned.

"And maybe that's what's best for her," Leonard retorted.

"No, they happen anyway. Starfleet needs me on the Enterprise. You know it's true." Leonard scowled at her and shook his head.

"Dammit Annie, what if it gets worse? What if you get hurt?" He asked.

"Then, I'll have an excellent doctor to take care of me," she answered.

"She's got you there," Jim laughed, lightly shoving his friend.

"Fine, but the minute it gets worse, you tell me, got it?"

"Of course, sir," she retorted sarcastically but he knew she meant it.


	8. Chapter 8

"The board calls Captain James T. Kirk..." the head of the Academy board began a few days later. Annie couldn't help the swell of pride in she felt as Jim officially became the captain of the USS Enterprise. She glanced up at Leonard who was standing next to her. He glanced back and smirked as well. She lightly bumped him with her shoulder and he reached over to squeeze her hand.

"We did it," she whispered.

"Yeah we did," he replied, kissing her temple lightly.

The room erupted into applause and Jim couldn't fight the smile that consumed his face. He looked to the crowd and quickly found his crew. He scanned their faces until he saw Annie, smiling as wide as all the others. When they made eye contact, she nodded at him.

The assembly was dismissed and Jim ran around the building to catch up with Annie and Leonard. When Annie caught sight of him, she ran up and jumped into his arms. He swung her around and when he set her down, she gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

"Congratulations," Leonard said as he extended his hand which Jim took in a firm handshake. Jim then pulled his friend in for a hug and Leonard groaned.

"Thanks Bones," Jim said as Leonard failed to pull away.

"Dammit Jim, let go of me," he grumbled. Finally Jim let go as Annie started to giggle.

"Come on, let's go celebrate!" She suggested. Both men turned to her in surprise.

"Who are you and what have you done with Annie?" Jim asked incredulously. Annie chuckled again a shrugged.

"What? You don't want to?" She asked.

"Of course I do!" Jim exclaimed. "You coming Bones?" Leonard shook his head and laughed.

"Yeah, I guess I will," he answered.

* * *

It was late when they got back from the bar. The boys walked back with Annie to her room to make sure she made it back alright. She had definitely drunk her fair share and giggled as she stumbled down the hallway. Annie grabbed her key but couldn't seem to focus enough to unlock her door. Leonard softly placed his hand over hers to steady it as he helped her get the door open.

When the door opened, Annie turned around and leaned against the doorpost. She draped her hands on his shoulders, interlocking her fingers behind his neck. Leonard, despite being drunker than he had been in a while, knew how compromising a position they currently were in. He glanced over at Jim who was only drunkenly laughing at how far gone Annie was. Turning back to the girl, he reached up and grabbed her hands, bringing them back to her sides, though he continued to hold them.

"Come on, darlin'," he slurred slightly. "Time for bed."

"Okay, Doctor Bones," she hiccuped. She quickly leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

She moved to take a step back but slipped and started to fall. Leonard's reaction time was slow and he almost missed her. He managed to catch a side of her as Jim caught the other. Together they carried her over to her bed. They tucked her in as she started to fall asleep instantly.

"You know," she whispered almost inaudibly. "I have no idea how a freak like me made such good friends." Jim and Bones looked at each other as her words cut through their drunken fog. Both decided not to say anything and each kissed her forehead before leaving her to sleep. Annie hummed lightly. "But I'm glad I did." She finished before falling asleep.

* * *

The guys got back to their room chatting about everything that had happened that night.

"She called you Bones!" Jim realized. "That never happens!"

"No it doesn't," Leonard marveled. The nicknamed still irked him but somehow, either between the alcohol or something else entirely, he didn't mind it when she said it. He was thinking about how she had draped her arms on him as Jim continued drabble.

"And god, when she smiles I know why I'm in love with her," Jim admitted, causing Leonard to stop his daydream.

"You what?" He asked a bit more forcefully than he meant to. _Damn liquor_ , he thought.

"I don't know," Jim thought aloud. "I've never admitted how much I like her before." He unbuttoned his jacket and took it off, replacing it with a t-shirt.

"She hardly seems like your type," McCoy drawled as he also began to dress for bed.

"I know! That's what makes her so exciting! She's fresh, innocent. She's the kind of girl you stay with for a long time and, Bones, I think I love her," Jim admitted. He sat down on his bed and leaned back, putting his arms under his head.

Leonard felt his heart fall to his feet. Of course the handsome Captain Kirk was in love with her too. How could he compete with that? He too sat down on his bed, moving the covers to climb under them.

"What do you think? Do you think I have a chance?" Jim asked, looking over at him.

"I think it's time for bed," Leonard grumbled only half meaning the bite in his voice. But Jim didn't seem to notice as he fell asleep. Leonard leaned over and turned the lights out manually. He rolled back over and stared at the ceiling for hours.


	9. Chapter 9

When Annie woke up, she noticed two things: she had no idea what happened after the ceremony and that she should be extremely hungover if she didn't remember anything. But she felt fine if just a little overtired. She considered staying in bed but her comm began to go off.

She clambered over to it and saw that the Admiral was paging her. She reached his office within the hour.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" She asked, standing in the doorway. Admiral Marcus looked up and waved her in.

"Yes, I have another assignment for you," he said plainly.

"Sir?"

"You didn't think an asset like you would just get to hide out on one ship did you?" he sneered slightly.

"I-I'm not sure, sir," she stammered.

"Well, time to think differently," he answered. "You leave this afternoon on the USS Encounter. There's a uranium mine on Condan. The Encounter has been assigned to collect a shipment of it to bring back to Starfleet. I want you on the ship incase anything goes wrong." Annie remained silent though she desperately wanted to beg her way out of her current situation. She moved to speak but stopped when she noticed the Admiral eyeing her. She suddenly felt uncomfortable under his gaze, like an animal under surveillance. "You are dismissed, Lieutenant."

Annie continued her silence as she ran out of the Admiral's office. She kept running until she had reached the door to Jim and Leonard's room. She knocked twice but didn't wait for the door to open when she collapsed in a fit of sobs against the door.

Leonard heard the knocks at the door followed by a firm 'thud'. If it weren't for his stores of pain relieving hyposprays he had on hand, he would definitely have been too hungover to function. But as it were, his headache had subsided along with the nausea and he was lucid enough to answer the door.

He threw the door open before he heard the crying. As the door gave way, a small, brunette figure tumbled into the room. When he saw who it was, he quickly scooped her up and shut the door. He sat down on his bed leaving the girl in his lap to sob into his shirt.

"I'm sorry," she sobbed, "but I didn't know where else to go." Leonard looked briefly over at Jim who was still sacked out on his bed before firmly wrapping his arms around her frame. He used his left hand to stroke her hair gently as he trying to calm her down.

"Annie, what's wrong?" He whispered. "This isn't about last night, is it? Because nothing happened to you, I promise." He couldn't think of anything else that would be upsetting her so much. He continued to shush her, kissing her temple softly, as her breathing slowed down a bit and her sobs died also.

"It's not that," she tried to choke out. "I don't actually remember last night anyway." She tried to laugh but it just came out as a choked sob. She then proceeded to start crying all over again. Leonard just tightened his hold on her and rocked slightly in an effort to calm her down.

He noticed as Annie buried her face farther into his shirt, Jim was beginning to wake up. _What a time for him to finally wake up_ , Leonard thought a little bitterly.

Jim rolled over onto his back and sighed deeply. His head hurt but he had dealt with worse. As he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he noticed a crumpled girl wrapped in his roommate's arms. She looked like she was just finishing a crying fit.

Leonard gave him a warning look before turning his attention back to her. He pulled back slightly so that he could get a good look at her face as he ran a hand over the side of it. It was red and splotchy but she showed no sign of injury.

Finally, Jim realized who she was.

"Annie?" He asked moving over to where she and Bones were. Like Annie, he had no recollection of the night before nor his declaration to Bones but it didn't stop his heart from stopping at the sight of her looking so broken. "What happened?"

Annie looked over at him before looking back at Leonard. Without loosing eye contact with the doctor, she slowly slid herself off his lap and leaned against his headrest. She pulled her knees to her chest and took a deep breath.

"I got called into the Admiral's office this morning," she began hesitantly. She stared at her feet as she continued. "He wants me on the Encounter this afternoon for a mission on Condan. He said- he said an asset like me had to be expected to be on any ship at any time. He acted like I was some object or weapon." She began to shake and Jim jumped up to take her hands in his. She looked up at him briefly and tried to smile but it came out broken as she started to cry again.

"Annie, it's okay, we will figure this out," Jim assured her. He looked back at Leonard hoping he knew what to say.

"There's nothing to figure out," she said in reply. "I don't have a choice unless I want to leave Starfleet." All three knew this wasn't an option. Leonard nodded slowly.

"Maybe they'll let me transfer," he suggested. "They won't let Jim but I could stay with you." Annie smiled a little and Leonard was relieved to see her smile at all. But she shook her head.

"No, you can't do that," she replied. "The Enterprise needs its Chief Medical Officer. Anyway, I should be back before the Enterprise leaves again. I just won't know anyone there and you know how that scares me. And then Admiral Marcus just surveyed me like an object. I'm just a little frightened." Leonard didn't bother to mention that she seemed more than a little frightened. Jim squeezed her hands gently.

"It's okay. It's only one mission and you'll be back on my ship," he assured her.

She finally nodded slowly, taking another deep breath.

"You're right, I'll be back in no time," she repeated. Suddenly her comm went off for the second time that day. "I have to go," she said after reading the message. "Thank you both. I'm sorry about bursting in like this." Leonard couldn't help but place a gentle hand on her knee.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he assured her. She nodded and climbed off of Leonard's bed.

"I'll see you both soon," she said softly as she stood up. She gave them both a quick peck on the cheek before she scurried out of the room.

Once the door shut, Jim kicked his bed frame.

"This is bullshit," Jim hissed. He plopped down on his bed and put his head in his hands. Leonard took a seat as well.

"Can't you do something about this?" Leonard grumbled.

"I'd have to challenge the Admiral," Jim answered hopelessly. "It's against regulation."

"And when have the rules ever stopped you?" Bones replied.

"Never," Jim realized. "Come on, we have to stop that ship!" He threw on his shoes and ran out of the room followed closely by the doctor.


	10. Chapter 10

Annie made her way back to her dorm room. When she arrived, she paused for a moment to look at the bed that used to be Sarah's. It had been a couple years since Sarah had left the Academy to become a dancer. Annie had never resented her decision until now. What she wanted more than anything was her friend back to talk her through all of this. But instead she dressed back in her blue Starfleet uniform and headed to the transport bay.

Bones and Jim headed straight for Admiral Marcus's office.

"You can't go in there," his secretary insisted. "Admiral Marcus isn't seeing anyone today." Jim paused to get a good look at the girl. But remembering the task at hand, turned and blew past her to throw open the door. Bones followed wordlessly.

"I told my secretary I wasn't to be disturbed," Marcus growled without looking up.

"All due respect sir, but I don't really care right now," Jim replied. Bones was shocked by the fire in his voice and glancing at the admiral, he noticed the man was surprised as well.

"And just who do you think you are, kid?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Captain James T. Kirk, sir, of the USS Enterprise," he replied.

"Well Kirk, do you have any idea who I am?" He sneered.

"Yes sir, that's why we came to talk to you," he tried to keep his temper to himself. "I'm here to request that Lieutenant Cassidy not be sent on the USS Encounter today."

"And why the hell not?" The admiral insisted.

"She is assigned to my ship, sir, which makes her a part of my crew. Starfleet regulation mandates that crew members can only be transferred with the approval of their captain, that's me," Jim explained. "And quite frankly sir, I don't approve." Both men were surprised when the admiral smirked a little.

"Starfleet regulations only applies to people, son, human or alien but people. Lieutenant Cassidy is more like a highly humanized weapon," he countered. Bones felt his nails dig into his palms in an effort to stop himself from attacking his superior officer. Jim had no such intentions of keeping his emotions in check.

"Excuse me, sir, but that's bullshit," he angrily shot back. "She is just as much a human as each if us in this room. You cannot just treat her like property!" He slammed his fist on the desk and leaned in to stare the admiral in the eye.

"Jim," Leonard whispered warningly. He may have felt the same way but he didn't want to see his friend get into any more trouble.

"Listen son, unless you want Lieutenant Cassidy off your ship permanently, you will leave my office right now!" He roared. Jim fought with himself for a moment but decided not to push his luck. He feared making things worse for his friend.

"Let's go Jim," Leonard finally spoke up, reaching a hand out to grab his shoulder.

"Oh and for the record, then next time you both come storming into my office in your nightwear, I will have you thrown out of Starfleet. Good day gentlemen," the admiral sneered one last time as Jim and Leonard were ushered out of the office. Finally allowing his emotions to show, Leonard punched the first wall he found.

* * *

When Annie's transport landed on the Encounter, she was surprised to be met with four security officers and a very apologetic looking nurse. Upon closer inspection, Annie realized she recognized the nurse.

"Christine?" She asked, suddenly relieve for at least on familiar face. The nurse, Christine Chapel, smiled a little and nodded, stepping forward to hug her old friend. They had been friends in the Academy, having met while Annie was visiting with Doctor McCoy. Christine had also been involved with Jim in the past but Annie knew she didn't like it brought up. "I haven't seen you since," Annie stopped herself.

"Since Jim and I stopped seeing each other," Christine finished. "Yeah, I transferred to the Encounter; they needed a head nurse anyway." The girls embraced once more before one of the officers stepped in.

"I'm sorry, nurse, but we have orders," he said reaching for Annie's arm. Christine looked like she was about to say something but stopped. She turned to Annie.

"I'm really sorry about this but the captain wants you under constant supervision in the medical bay until we get to Condan," she said, surprising Annie.

"It's okay," Annie replied in a small voice and followed the officers to the med-bay.

She felt the ship go to warp but the officer's firm hand on her arm stopped her from stumbling from the slight dizziness she felt. _Thank goodness for that, at least_ , she thought.

Once in the med-bay, Annie finally had a chance to think. She went back over everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

She thought about the admiral eyeing her like some kind of prized weapon and then running across campus to her friends' room. She realized what a mess she must have looked like, curled up into a ball on Leonard's lap. She didn't regret it but she hoped they didn't suddenly think less of her for her emotional outbreak.

Then she thought about her current situation, headed to a planet for uranium. She realized then that she recognized the name of the planet from somewhere. She tried to remember where she had heard it before but failed to figure it out. It wasn't a well-known planet, she knew, or else they would have covered it in her navigation class. She figured it was probably for the most part uninhabited as well if uranium was abundant.

Regardless of her toiling in thought, she still couldn't place her familiarity with the planet anywhere.

She continued to ponder over the planet until another officer walked into the med-bay.

"We are nearing Condan," he announced. "We need her on her shuttle now." He turned to leave but Annie spoke up and stopped him.

"Wait, we aren't beaming?" She asked.

"No," he replied. "It's easier to load the uranium onto shuttles than to beam it. The radiation interferes with our sensors." Annie nodded and climbed off the biobed to follow him.

They put her on her own shuttle. She figured it was just another precaution the captain was making about her. She missed Jim and Leonard more terribly now that she was in such a hostile environment.

She sat and waited for the transport to land when she remembered something odd about this planet. She remembered rocky mountains and barren wastelands and she ran up to the front of the shuttle. Out the window she could see only thick dust and she looked at the scanner which showed no sign of danger. But she felt something in her urging her not to trust what she saw.

"We are going to crash," she said panicking. The pilot of the craft looked back at her in confusion.

"How do you know that?" He asked. Annie tried to think of a response but found none.

"I-I don't know," she admitted. "But you have to trust me!" The pilot pressed a few buttons.

"Encounter this is Shuttle B, are we on a collision course?" He comm-ed to the main ship.

"Of course not," a booming voice responded which she figured was the captain.

"He's wrong," she urged him. Noting the panic in her voice, the pilot decided to pull up slightly. "If you coast a few more feet, there's a platform," she instructed, "I think."

The pilot eyed her warily but did as she said. He finally coasted to a stop. Annie was about to relax when an urgent voice came over the comm.

"Mayday, mayday! This is Shuttle A and we are about to crash!" It shouted. The pilot of her shuttle looked back at her as her eyes grew wide in realization that she had been right. "Something jammed our sensors and we couldn't see the mountain in front of-" then there was static.

Annie took off out the door of the shuttle and towards the crash with her pilot in tow. She saw now that the shuttle was engulfed in flames and there was no way anyone had survived.

Suddenly the dust cleared and she was left alone with her pilot.

"Shit," the pilot said. "That could have been us!" Annie nodded. She turned to head back to the shuttle to radio the ship when she heard an eerily familiar voice.

"Welcome home, Annabelle," it said. "It took you much longer than I expected, though." Annie turned back around and saw a man standing a head taller than her with short, white hair and piercing blue eyes. He was looking at her carefully.

"What the hell?" The pilot said behind her. Before she could react, the man flicked his hand and she heard the pilot's neck snap. She would have screamed if she wasn't so terrified.

"Who- who are you?" She whimpered. He look a step forward and with more light she saw the evil grin he had on his face.

"Why Annabelle, I'm hurt. Don't you recognize the man that created you?" He sneered. Annie wasn't sure if she was going to cry, throw up or scream and feeling so overwhelmed, she felt her vision go black and she passed out.


	11. Chapter 11

Christine Chapel was furious over the way that Annie have been treated on the Encounter. What made matters worse was the fact that the captain didn't even seem to care that they had lost contact with her.

"Sir, we should land on the planet and try to find her. She's the only one who survived the crash and she needs to be rescued," she pleaded. The captain seemed to think for a moment but turned away from her.

"She's not one of my crew members. All of my crew members that headed to the planet are dead and we are out of shuttles. The dust is too thick to risk landing something this big. We need to return to headquarters. If Starfleet wants to rescue that thing, they can send someone else," he grumbled. "Set course for Earth and punch it."

Christine moved to object but her CMO grabbed her to stop her. He gave her a warning look and shook his head. She considered disobeying again but decided against it. She knew she wouldn't be able to do anything herself but as soon as she got back to Earth, she knew who could.

* * *

She found Jim in the bar just as she figured she would. When he saw her, he looked confused but still got down off his stool and walked up to her.

"Wow, Christine it's been a while," he said. "How have you been?" He moved to hug her but she stepped away.

"Now's not the time Jim," she replied. She knew it was rude but now was not the time for pleasantries. "I was stationed on the USS Encounter, we just got back." Jim's eyes grew wide.

"Annie, where is she? Is she okay?" He began to bombarde her and it made the whole ordeal upset her more.

"I don't know. We lost contact with her on the planet when the shuttles crashed. She was still alive but the captain decided to turn back. She's stranded there by herself. I'm so sorry," she revealed. Without wasting time with frivolous details, Christine continued to explain what had happened. When she had finished, Jim didn't hesitate as he thanked her quickly and bolted out of the bar.

Leonard McCoy was about to finish a near twelve hour shift at the hospital. Since Annie had left, he had tried to emerge himself in his work so that he wouldn't worry. But worry he did. He had just clocked out when Jim came running into his wing, followed closely behind by Uhura and Spock.

"What'd you do?" He grumbled waiting for some long-winded explanation about his latest accident. But instead, Jim's face looked grave.

"It's Annie, they left her," Jim muttered incredulously. "She got left behind and now she's stranded. Bones, we have to go get her." Leonard didn't even bother correcting Jim as he took in the news.

"How do we get to her?" He asked.

"Mr. Scott reports that the Enterprise is fully functional and is prepared for a rescue mission," Spock informed the group. Bones nodded and grabbed his jacket.

"Then let's go," he said. As they left, Jim turned to the doctor.

"Never again am I letting her off my ship," he muttered.

"I couldn't agree more," Leonard responded.

* * *

They got to the transport building in record time. They were met there with the rest of the crew who had already been paged. Few words were shared as they boarded the shuttles and took their places on the starship.

Bones stayed on the bridge the entire time. It was only a half an hour trip at warp and no one needed immediate medical assistance. They dropped out of warp just outside of the atmosphere.

"Bones, Spock, Uhura, you're with me," Jim ordered. "Mr. Scott, are you available as well?" He comm-ed. He figured he might need the engineer's help if the same anomaly happened to their shuttle as Christine had described of those from the Encounter.

"Aye Captain," came his reply.

"Sir, I would also like to come vif you," Chekov said. Jim looked at the seventeen year old and saw the determination in his eyes. He knew Annie had always been looking out for the kid and didn't blame him for wanting to make sure she was okay. Jim simply nodded.

"Mr. Sulu, you have the conn," he said as he left the bridge, followed by his friends.

"Jim, what do we do if our scanners are jammed?" Bones asked worriedly. "You don't run into a fire if you know your suit won't work." Jim thought for a moment.

"We'll have to land manually," he replied.

"Dammit Jim," Bones muttered but continued to follow him.

Everything on the shuttle seemed to work. The scanners functioned and the ship was coasting to a stop where the scanners indicated a landing area. But Chekov noticed that the terrain out the window was just slightly different from the one in the scanners. It wasn't extreme, but it was noticeable.

"Vwait!" He yelled. "Ve are headed on a collision course!" Scotty quickly looked at the scanners and saw what the young navigator pointed out.

"The lad's right. We need to pull this bloody ship up!" Spock and Jim who were at the controls, pulled the ship up but unfortunately not enough as the ship collided with a previously unseen rock structure.

The shuttle tumbled down the other side and after it finally stopped, the doors flew open and remained that way. The crew climbed out of the broken shuttle angry but unharmed.

"How the hell did we miss a damn mountain?" Bones grumbled.

"It did not appear on our scanners and the dust was too thick to see through," Spock answered plainly.

"Either way, we are stuck here," Uhura said.

"Yes you are," boomed a voice from behind them. They couldn't see his face but knew he wasn't a friendly.

"Who are you?" Jim demanded but the voice laughed.

"Your captor now," he replied. "I think you might prove a productive incentive to a pupil of mine." He flicked his wrist and the entire crew fell through the sand.


	12. Chapter 12

Annie awoke with a sharp pain in her right temple. As she continued to gain lucidity, the pain worsened and she reached her hand up to grasp her head. Upon touching her head, she felt the raised bump of a scar she had not previously noticed.

She pushed herself up and tried to ignore the pain surging in her head. She noticed now that she was in some sort of cave. It had a high ceiling and was square in shape. One side had no wall but upon walking up to it, she realized it dropped off steeply into a cliff.

"Don't try it," the voice from before said. "I won't revive you like I did when you were little." She turned around a bit confused. Upon seeing his slightly amused expression, a memory flashed to her eyes.

 _She was laying on a bed. The man stood over her shaking his head._

 _"You know this is the fourth time this month you've tried this," he said. "I don't know what you think this will accomplish." Annie couldn't help feeling relieved._ He doesn't think I've figured it out _, she thought._

 _"Why won't you let me die?" She spat, shrinking from his hands that were currently attending to her healing knee. He said nothing in response and left the room._

"What did you do to me?" She asked, trying to interpret the memory.

"I simply removed the block I'd placed on your memory," he answered. Annie unconsciously reached back up to her scar.

"Block?" She repeated softly. The man slowly walked toward her and chuckled darkly.

"I placed it there before you escaped so that if you did manage to run away, you would have no memory of your time here," he explained. "You were becoming too powerful and I figured it was only a matter of time before you found your way off this planet."

He continued to advance and she backed up until she reached to edge of the cliff. "You'll remember it all in time." Her eyes grew wide and she considered jumping. But he stopped all at once. "It's nice to have you home." At that, he turned and walked away.

She watched him walk right through the wall and she sunk to her knees. She wondered if any of her friends knew what had happened to her. She hoped that they would come to rescue her but she knew better than to get her hopes up. She was quite sure that wherever she was being kept, it was off the map.

Deciding there was nothing she could do, she made her way over to the bed she hadn't noticed before and curled up, willing sleep to claim her. Just before she fell asleep, she realized she remembered the name of the man.

 _Ubel,_ she thought. Finally she fell fast asleep.

 _She stood before a massive rock formation. She knew what Ubel wanted her to do but she still couldn't figure out how to do it._

 _"God dammit you stupid girl," his voice boomed in her mind, "it's just some damn rocks." She felt her veins catch fire and she fell to her knees in pain. "Do it and the pain will stop," the voice warned._

 _Annie looked back up at the rocks and reached her hand toward them. She focused as hard as she could and slowly the rocks lifted off the ground. The pain increased and she began to lose her grip on the rocks. She managed to move them a few feet before she collapsed into a ball. She felt the pain leave her body._

 _"Good," Ubel sneered. "Very good."_

* * *

Annie realized as she gained consciousness again that she was not alone.

"You don't think they hurt the lass, do ya?" A Scottish voice asked.

"No, the wound appears to have been professionally taken care of," a gruff, southern voice chimed in. "Whoever did this is well trained in medical practice."

"So she's not hurt?" Another man asked.

"No Jim, just sleeping," the southern man answered. She moved slightly as she came to and felt the bed shift under her as if someone had been sitting on it but had gotten off. She focused her attention on the voices she heard.

Then it all came rushing back to her and her eyes snapped open. She was met with the relieved expressions of her close friends.

"How?" She squeaked out. She threw the sheet off of her and jumped off the bed. She embraced each of her friends in turn, spending an extra few moments in the arms of Jim and Leonard respectively.

"Jimbo insisted we all drop everything to come get you," Scotty joked.

"But how did you end up here?" She asked.

"Well now that we don't really know," the Scotsman answered. "One moment we're on a transport in dust as thick as soup and the next, we're here. I think we fell through the roof." Annie looked up but saw only sold rock overhead.

"Yeah, we don't know either," Jim said. Annie sat back down on the bed.

"So what does he want?" Leonard asked no one in particular. "Why didn't he just kill us?"

"It is surprising that our captor did not terminate us on site however it is also plausible that Annabelle may have something to do with it," Spock thought aloud. Annie felt all eyes once again on her.

"No, that can't be it," Uhura said defending Annie.

"Actually, Spock is right, this is all my fault," she whispered. Uhura came over to her, wrapping her in a hug. Annie knew she had to explain everything but she found the words dying in her throat.

"Zere are tally marks all over zee walls," Chekov noticed pulling everyone's attention from Annie, a fact that she was grateful for.

"Good god," Leonard remarked, looking at them. "How many are there?"

"It would be illogical to count them," Spock warned though it didn't stop Jim from starting.

"Don't bother," Annie interjected keeping her gaze on the ground. "There should be a little over two-thousand of them." Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"How did ya figure that one out?" Scotty asked. Annie took a deep, shaky breath.

"I cut them," she answered. The room immediately went silent. No one knew what to say.

"Don't be silly, you haven't been here that long, Annie," Jim tried and Annie hoped he was intentionally trying to be naive.

"That is not what she meant," Spock said.

"Annie?" Leonard prodded, sitting on her other side. Annie squeezed his hand and stood up to inspect her handiwork. It was easier to get the words out when she wasn't looking at them.

"I grew up here," she said. "Six years, I think, training whatever powers I have. Although I don't think I was born with these powers. The man who put us all here, Ubel, he said he created me. And I think he's right." She suddenly felt weak at the knees.

She saw flashes of needles, scalpels and wires. The pain in her head surged and she slid down the wall to her knees. She remembered now what was done to her, what he had done to her and it was too much.

"Annie, what is it?" Jim looked down at her as he asked. Annie's heart continued to race and she began to breathe sporadically. Leonard rushed over to her and sunk down to his knees. Annie continued to see flashes of the torture she had once known but she also saw other memories: her parents on a starship, the crash, being dragged here and pain, lots of pain.

Leonard began to panic himself. If he didn't get her to calm down, she could go into shock. He grabbed her shoulders to steady her but she looked everywhere but at him. She dug her nails into her scalp, pulling her knees to her chest. He took her face in his hands instead and forced her to look at him. She relaxed slightly.

"Annie, I need you to slow your breathing down. Take a deep breath with me," he said in a soothing voice but she continued to panic. "Please Annie, look at me. You have to take a deep breath for me and calm down." Annie nodded slowly. "Good, now breathe with me," he instructed, taking deep breaths himself.

Once she had calmed down, she lightly touched his face.

"Thank you," she whispered, leaning into his right hand. He nodded and gave her a small smile, kissing her forehead lightly. He took a seat against the wall next to her, sliding his arm around her shoulders and pulling her to lean on him. The crew all finally relaxed a bit and they all took seats around the room.

Jim looked at Bones and Annie and was surprised to feel a twinge of jealousy. He let it go, however, as Bones nodded to him. He sat down on the bed as the crew members each tried to strategize how to get out of the cave.


	13. Chapter 13

"Can we jump?" Jim asked. Annie moved to shake her head but stopped. She wordlessly stood up out of Leonard's arms, grabbing a loose rock off the floor as she went, and walked over to the end of the cave.

When she reached the edge of the cliff, she reared back and threw the rock with all her might. It sailed for about ten feet before it disappeared. A silver ripple was left in its wake.

"Holy shit!" Jim exclaimed. He jumped up and ran over to try the same thing. Sure enough, his rock disappeared as well.

"What the hell is that?" Bones asked, standing up.

"It appears to be a transporting wall. The Vulcan science academy was testing them when I left for Starfleet," Spock hypothesized.

"How do they work?" Uhura asked.

"I believe the easiest equivalent is, in human vernacular, a portal. Though the portals that appear in films are simply fictional, the Vulcans had discovered a way to use the basic principles of beaming, using radiation to scramble a person's molecules to transport them somewhere else, but make it stationary transport to the same place every time," Spock explained.

"Great, so our only way out is to jump off a cliff, get our molecules scrambled and hope we don't end up somewhere worse than this?" Bones grumbled.

"We will not have to hope, doctor," Spock said looking at Annie. Annie thought for a moment. When she had escaped the first time, she had been alone. She remembered jumping off the cliff several times before she reached the wall. She had reappeared in one of the testing rooms. That room had a door at the end of it and beyond was the wasteland.

"It's safe but we may reach resistance," she said. Jim nodded and took a few steps back. He was about to take off running when Annie stopped him. "Wait," she warned. "You won't make it."

"Why not?" Jim asked. Pavel's eyes got wide.

"Of course," he muttered. "Zat's why zee shuttles crashed." Jim and Leonard looked at each other in confusion.

"What the hell is the kid talking about?" Bones asked.

"The gravity here is deceptive. You can't feel it but it's stronger here. You won't make the jump. I spent almost a year trying to jump far enough," Annie answered. "Received a lot of injuries doing it." Bones's eyes grew wide and he turned to her.

"Dammit, Annie," he muttered. "You were only..." He trailed off.

"Twelve, Len. I was only twelve," she finished.

"What does that have to do with the shuttles?" Uhura asked. Spock turned to her.

"With all the dust, we had to rely on our sensors to land safely. When our sensors were blocked, we could not account for the greater gravitational pull, ultimately ending in our collision," he explained.

"Then how do we get out of here?" Bones asked. Everyone was silent as they attempted to come up with a reasonable solution.

"What if there was a bridge?" Chekov suggested. "Something we could use to climb across?" His words reminded Annie of her first escape. She rushed over to the edge of the cliff and spotted the rock structure from her dream. She turned back around to her friends.

"Here's how this is going to go," she said with more force than anyone was expecting. "I can create a path to get to the wall. I can't guarantee how long I can hold it but if everyone moves fast enough, we should all make it. I will have to go last. The room you will end up in has an exit about fifty yards straight ahead. There may be people in the room but I doubt it. If I don't make it, do not try to find this room again. I'll just have to wait a bit to recover. Again, do not try to find this room again. He will not hesitate to kill you. I don't know why he spared you all the first time but he will not do it again."

"Annie, we're not leaving you," Jim pleaded. Annie took a few steps to him and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"You don't have a choice, if I can't hold it long enough, you have to wait for me at the shuttle crash. Please trust me," she urged him. He scowled but nodded and she turned her focus to the rocks.

It was as hard as she remembered. As soon as they were in place, Jim ran over them. Spock and Uhura followed and Pavel and Scotty behind them. Annie started to feel faint but she smiled at Leonard as if to say it was okay to cross. Black peppered her vision and Leonard felt the rocks under his feet waver slightly. He looked back and saw the pained expression on her face.

Making a split second decision, he dove back to the ledge as the rocks fell simultaneously with Annie's small frame. Bones tumbled a little and, finding his feet, ran over to Annie. He gathered her limp figure into his arms and ran his left hand on her face.

"You were supposed to go through," she whispered weakly. She tried to sound angry but smiled a little as she said it. Leonard smiled back.

"I couldn't leave you behind," he replied. Annie nodded and smiled wider.

"Thank you," she said as she lost consciousness again.


	14. Chapter 14

**Ahhhhh! I love this chapter! I think now is a good time to admit how absolutely obsessed I am with Bones and Karl Urban... So ahhhhhhh! Anyway, enjoy!**

 **Also HUGE shout out to those of you awesome people who have read, reviewed, followed and favorite this story. You guys keep me motivated.**

* * *

She woke up on the bed again. She turned over on her side and saw Leonard leaning his head on the wall. When he saw that she was awake, he scrambled to his feet and sat down on her bed. Annie pulled herself into a sitting position. He took her left hand in his own, stroking the back of it with his thumb.

"Len, you really were supposed to go," she tried to scold as she squeezed his hand. He shrugged and blushed a little. He reached up and brushed a stray hair away from her eyes. She leaned into his hand and he left it on her face, cupping her cheek.

"How do you feel?" He whispered. She pulled his hand slightly towards her and he leaned toward her as a result. She moved so that she was sitting on her feet instead and leaned up to him on her knees.

"Better now," she answered as she wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him to her. "Thank you." He returned her embrace tightly. When she pulled away, she remained in his arms as she slid her hands to his chest.

Leonard couldn't pull his gaze away from her. He reached up and placed his hands on her face. He pulled her face closer and kissed her.

It was hesitant at first. Neither Bones nor Annie were sure what the other wanted and neither wanted to take liberties. But Annie wrapped her arms around his neck to pull herself closer and Leonard grabbed her waist to bring her onto his lap. She gasped and Leonard took the opportunity to push his tongue into her mouth. She returned the gesture and pulled her body closer to his, winding her hands in his hair.

He moved his mouth to her jaw and down her neck. She let out a small moan and Leonard paused for a moment. Annie moved to kiss his neck and Leonard almost forgot his hesitation. But suddenly he heard Jim's voice in his head.

 _"Bones, I think I love her,"_ it said and he pushed her away. She opened her eyes and looked at him. She looked confused and a bit hurt and he had to fight his urge to recapture her swollen lips. His voice came out in gasps as he explained his hesitation.

"We can't do this," he panted. Annie climbed off of him. She sat on the bed next to him and looked at her hands, suddenly embarrassed by her forwardness. "Jim really cares for you, he may even love you," he explained. "It wouldn't be right." Annie looked up at him.

"Len," she started but he shook his head.

"Come on," he stood up and placed a hand on her knee. "We need to get out of here." Annie's heart broke a little but she focused instead on escaping.

She stepped back over to the edge and raised the rocks. Leonard tried to ignore how hurt she looked as he ran across the rocks. Annie followed closely behind and through the giant wall.

A wave of dizziness like she had never experienced before washed over her. She stumbled to her knees and took a moment for her head to clear.

"Of course," she whispered, finally realizing the source. She didn't have time to worry about it, though, and she jumped back up to follow Leonard out the door.

The reached the others in minutes.

"What took ya so long?" Scotty asked and Leonard felt the heat rise to his cheeks.

"I took a little longer than expected to recover is all," Annie covered. Jim nodded and turned back to the wreckage of the shuttle.

"So what do we do?" He asked. Annie stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. Then she walked past him and extended a hand toward the shuttle. She remembered now that she had done something like this before, once in training and again to escape the planet. It wasn't until the shuttle had left the atmosphere, that the block in her memory had taken effect. She hoped that Ubel really had removed the block on her memory this time.

The crew watched in awe as the shuttle reassembled. She reached her other hand out and twirling her hands in a circle, the shuttle finished coming together.

"Okay, this is by far my favorite trick this lass has ever done," Scotty spoke up. Annie blushed as she turned back to the crew.

"It's not perfect but it will get us back to the Enterprise," she informed them. They were about to board the shuttle when they all heard slow clapping behind them.

"Well done, my dear," her captor sneered. "Glad to see my training paid off." Annie turned around slowly and saw that her friends had all taken several steps to stand in front of her. "I would find your friends' loyalty to you endearing if it wasn't so nauseating." Annie stepped through her friends, toward the sneering man.

"You can't scare me anymore," she said, honing a confidence she didn't know she had.

"Oh, but my dear, would they still care for you if they knew what you are?" He asked. "You are a weapon meant to assist in the downfall of the galaxy. You are incapable of anything else." Jim stepped forward.

"That's not true!" he shouted. "Annie is capable of so much more than you will ever understand!" Annie was shocked by his outburst and suddenly she could see what Leonard had said he felt. But thinking about how Leonard had rejected her only made her heart sink and she looked away from him.

Ubel made no move to acknowledge Jim at all and simply stepped toward Annie.

"You haven't told them everything yet have you?" He asked causing everyone to look at her. "You haven't told them how I made you, how I altered everything you were to make you what you are. Why don't you tell them what you remember now?" He sneered. She was determined to say nothing but Ubel reached a hand out and she felt the words fighting to spill out of her mouth. "Tell them."

Annie felt a tear roll down her cheek as she began.


	15. Chapter 15

**Okay, this is where our story gets a little dark. Slight trigger warnings for evil men doing evil things but nothing M rated, I promise.**

* * *

"I was born to Captain Gregory and Doctor Shana Cassidy of the USS Wandman. The same Wandman that was destroyed by Klingons twenty years ago. It had been sent to search for the ship that destroyed the USS Kelvin. They had brought me on board as it was supposed to be only a simple mission and six year old me wanted to see what my parents did," she started.

"But no one survived that attack," Scotty thought aloud. "The ship crashed into a bloody planet." Annie nodded.

"That's correct, it crashed here, on Condan, and everyone was killed in the crash," she replied.

"Then how?" Jim started but Annie looked over her shoulder and he stopped.

"I was killed along with everyone else on the Wandman. But Ubel found me and took my dead body back to his laboratory. The same lab we just ran through. He performed experiment after experiment on me, using radiation and gene splicing. He didn't just want me alive but he wanted a weapon that he could use to help the Klingons destroy the Federation. He wanted to take away everything that made me human," she stopped.

"You-you died?" Jim asked. Annie nodded.

"Admiral Marcus was right; I am just a weapon that functions like a human," she whispered in defeat.

"No," Jim and Leonard responded simultaneously. Annie looked up at them in mild relief. It was short lived, however, when Ubel began to laugh.

"That's where you're wrong. She's a toy, my toy. Mine, to experiment on, to play with, to _touch_." Annie watched as the expressions of anger on the crews faces turned to one of disgust. She felt all of the wind knocked out of her and she doubled over onto her knees.

"You didn't," Uhura started but found the rest of the words dying in her throat. She couldn't even consider it.

"No, she got away before I could really have my fun," he sneered a little bitterly.

"You son of a-" Jim began, taking a few steps as if to take a swing at the man but Ubel lifted his right hand and the captain was frozen in place.

"Now you see," Ubel said. "She is simply an object. Now if you would kindly return her to me, it would be gladly appreciated."

"I am afraid, that will not be possible," Spock said. He turned and nodded at Scotty who ran into the shuttle. Moments later the shuttle fired phasers and sent Ubel hurdling over the cliff, releasing Jim from Ubel's control.

Uhura stepped forward and helped Chekov pull her to her feet. As the two led her onto the shuttle, Jim and Bones followed both in shock over all they had learned.

Scotty quickly took off and they were back on the Enterprise in minutes.

* * *

Uhura and Chekov got Annie to the med-bay and had her sit on one of the beds. Annie hadn't said a word since her admission and she still said nothing now. Uhura hugged her friend quickly and left the med-bay dragging Jim and Leonard behind her. Chekov remained only a moment more to get her a glass of water.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Uhura hissed once outside. The men looked at each other and back at Uhura confused. "That girl's gone through more in her life than you will ever understand. How could you just stare at her like that?"

"What can we do?" Jim asked.

"You can be there for her!" She exclaimed. "She loves you both so much. You are the only people she lets her walls down with and you cannot abandon her now." Bones and Jim shared a surprised expression before turning back to Uhura. "Now, you go back in there and you show her that this hasn't changed how you feel about her or so help me I will strand you on some random planet," she warned. They nodded and rushed into the med-bay.

She looked up when the doors opened but her gaze fell right back to her feet.

"I'm a monster," she whispered. Jim rushed over to her. Bones wanted nothing more than to be there to but decided to give them their moment. Instead he stayed nearby fiddling with some medical equipment.

"No, you are anything but a monster," Jim assured her. He reached up and cupped her cheeks in his hands.

"That man was the god damn monster," Bones added almost under his breath. Annie finally looked up at them.

"Thank you," she whispered and they both nodded back. Jim kissed her temple softly before taking a step away.

"I have to return to the bridge," he said. "Let's go home." She smiled weakly and nodded. Once Jim had finally left, Bones moved back over to her. He ran the scanner over her to check her vitals but still made no movement to touch her. When he set the scanner back down, she finally looked up at him.

"What's bothering you?" she asked. He glanced at her in surprise for a moment before he looked away. He swiftly sat down on the bed next to her.

"Why don't you call me Bones?" He inquired. Annie felt like she was stuck in a battle of questions with the doctor.

"That's what's bothering you?" She remarked a bit incredulously. Bones nodded slowly. Annie looked down for a moment and sighed. "Because you don't seem to like it," she answered. "It reminds you of your ex-wife, which reminds you of your daughter, which makes you upset. I'd rather see you smile. I like your smile, it lights up your face." She finally glanced back up at him and saw him staring at her, dumbfounded.

"I never told you about my daughter," he said. "I never told anyone about her." Annie gave him a small, sad smile.

"You didn't have to. I've always known. It's where you go on holidays and you have a picture of her in your bag," she explained. Leonard was surprised by her attentiveness. It wasn't that he didn't want anyone to know about Joanna, but just that he didn't like talking about his ex-wife. He turned towards her and placed his hands on her shoulders. He stared at her for a long time before he let his gaze drop to the floor.

"I'm glad you know," he whispered, hoping it would help her feel a little better. "I'm glad someone finally knows, and I'm glad it's you."

She did seem to smile a bit, though her gaze remained downcast. She nodded before she spoke again.

"I won't tell anyone, you know, if you don't want me to," she assured him.

"I appreciate that," he said, looking at the floor himself. "I'm not sure I'm ready for everyone to know just yet." Annie nodded and looked over at him.

"I would like to meet her though, you know, sometime when you're ready." He hooked his hand under her chin to bring her eyes to his.

"I would love that. And for the record, the nickname is growing on me. It kinda sounds nice coming from you," he whispered, looking her. He began to lean towards her and was about to kiss her again, when Jim's voice came on over the comm. Bones couldn't hide his annoyance at the interruption as he dropped his hand and pulled away.

"Attention crew of the Enterprise, we will be arriving back with Starfleet in a matter of minutes. Odds are we will be punished for our impromptu rescue mission. Therefore, all crew members wishing to do so may and are encouraged to tell Starfleet that you didn't know this was an unsanctioned mission. It should keep you out of trouble. Kirk out."

Annie pulled away from Bones to look at him in shock.

"Wait, you didn't have permission? What were you guys thinking? You could get decommissioned for this! You should have just left me there!" She began to rant. Bones chuckled a little and shook his head. He finally felt like everything had returned to normal.

"Like hell, we would have left you on a planet by yourself," he said. He kissed her forehead lightly, taking her face in his hands. "We knew the consequences when we left. We can handle whatever comes." She smirked at him and moments later they were boarding shuttles to get back to Earth.


	16. Chapter 16

Jim was prepared to be interred and interrogated as soon as they landed. He caught sight of Captain Pike waiting for the shuttles to land and he knew the yelling was about to start.

But the yelling never came. Instead, Pike shook his head, trying to hide the smirk on his face.

"You've got a lot of nerve, kid. You know that?" He asked. Kirk shrugged and reached for Annie's hand, who had left the shuttle just behind him.

"I couldn't leave a crew member behind," he insisted. Annie smiled up at him and squeezed his hand. Pike looked between them and raised an eyebrow.

"And I trust you have kept your Captain's Log up to date," he said. Kirk let go of Annie's hand to run his hand through his hair.

"Yeah, about that," he began. Spock stepped forward.

"Sir, we were marooned on the planet without our comms and were therefore unable to record any transmissions. I have, however, kept a detailed record of all activities upon Condan to ensure that the Enterprise upheld the prime Starfleet directive," he informed Pike. Jim visually sighed in relief. Pike almost laughed as he nodded to the captain and first officer.

"Very well, I expect a full debriefing before your next mission tomorrow," Pike instructed. He turned to leave but Kirk stopped him.

"Sir, tomorrow?" He asked. Captain Pike nodded over his shoulder.

"Yes," he responded. "Starfleet has ordered the Enterprise to survey the Rictor system. It seems to be experiencing some unfriendly infiltration. You and your crew better rest up before you leave in the morning." He turned to look directly at Annie. "Your entire crew," he added. Annie sighed in relief and nodded.

"Son of a bitch really does mean tomorrow, doesn't he?" Bones grumbled as he stepped off the shuttle.

"I believe so, doctor," Spock answered the rhetorical question. Leonard rolled his eyes but made no further comment.

"Well, you heard the man. Let's hit the hay. We leave tomorrow morning," Jim announced and the crew dispersed to go to their respective homes. He turned to Annie who was still beside him.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked, touching her face lightly. Annie smilled and nodded.

"Yeah, I think so," she responded. She pecked him on the cheek before turning to head back to her own room. Leonard stepped up to him as he watched her leave.

"Come on, Jim. We should head home as well," he said, clasping his hand on the captain's shoulder. Jim looked at him and smirked as he nodded.

* * *

In the next few months, the newly graduated crew members all moved out of the Academy dorms and into apartments in San Francisco. Uhura took up residence in a studio apartment down the hall from where Spock was living. They had agreed not to share an apartment due to the possible infraction of the Starfleet code of conduct. They could remain in a relationship, as long as it didn't affect their work aboard the Enterprise which Spock had argued that living together might do.

Leonard and Jim had agreed to rent their own apartments in the same building. They had convinced Annie to do the same and usually the trio spent the majority of their time on planet in one another's apartments, especially because Jim refused to cook for himself. This often resulted in Annie or Bones doing the cooking for all of them.

* * *

Almost a year passed this way and Annie was never required to participate in a mission on a ship other than the Enterprise again. She suspected that Pike had something to do with it but said nothing.

That year, around Christmas, Bones finally built up the courage to take Annie to meet his daughter. She had considered suggesting that they invite Jim to go with them but had decided the better of it. As of late, Bones had always seemed to stiffen when she mentioned their mutual friend. She figured it had to do with what he had said on Condan, which also became a topic that was spoken of very little.

Regardless of the occasional tension, however, they met at the shuttle hanger early a few weeks after the holiday.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Bones asked her. She studied his face for a moment wondering where his sudden hesitation was coming from. She worried that he had changed his mind. "My ex-wife isn't the most welcoming person alive."

Annie almost laughed in relief when she realized his concern was for her. She reached for his hand and squeezed it.

"Trust me, not much can scare me anymore especially since you'll be there," she assured him. He squeezed her hand in return and shook his head incredulously.

"What would I do without you?" He asked. She shrugged.

"Become Spock," she laughed as she lead him to their shuttle.

Leonard took his usual seat by the window. If he couldn't be somewhere with no windows, then he preferred to be next to one. It made it easier to keep track of where the craft was. He was grateful that Annie understood and always made sure he sat in the window seat.

He looked over at her as she sat reading her latest book. He realized, of course, that taking a girl to meet his daughter was certainly more of something a person did with their girlfriend or more often their fiancé. It wasn't usually an activity for "just friends". But he had promised that he would take her and he figured it was better sooner than later.

They landed in Georgia in a matter of hours. Bones was grateful for the short flight and to be back on solid ground. He had to admit however, that he didn't get as nervous anymore as he used to.

They had rented a car and Leonard laughed as Annie stared out the window in awe the entire ride.

"You've never been down south before, have you?" He inquired, amused by how entranced she looked. She shook her head.

"You've seen where I grew up," she said. She snapped her head back looking suddenly embarrassed. "Well, to be fair, I kinda grew up off planet but," she tried to recover. He reached down and squeezed her hand.

"It's okay, I know what you meant," he said softly and she sighed in relief. She turned back to the window and watched the fields fly past them.

They parked outside a medium sized beige townhouse late in the afternoon. It wasn't big but coming from San Francisco, Annie didn't see many people own houses. It seemed like a luxury to her.

"Wow, you lived here?" She asked. He nodded curtly. She noticed now that he was still gripping the steering wheel looking straight ahead.

"You do this every time don't you?" She asked. He looked confused for a moment but softened, looking over at her.

"Yeah, I guess I sorta do," he admitted. He ran his right hand through his hair and Annie noticed something glint off his pinky finger. Her eyes widened as she got an idea.

"Give me your ring," she requested. He looked down at the small dark silver band and back at her. He wasn't sure why he wore it but it had been his grandfather's and he had worn it ever since he could get it to fit.

"Wait, why?" He inquired. She looked up at him.

"Do you trust me?" She asked.

"Of course," he insisted. She smiled and held out her hand.

"Then follow me," she said as he took off the ring and handed it to her. She surprised him by slipping it onto her left ring finger. She inspected it for a moment and Bones felt his heart skip a beat at her smile.

"Huh, it actually fits," is all she said as she opened her door. "Come on, let's go." Leonard snorted as he followed suit and accompanied her to the door.


	17. Chapter 17

He knocked on the door firmly. He was instantly self-conscious about the lack of ring on his right hand. He looked over at Annie who was twisting the ring unconsciously. He reached down and took her hand, intertwining their fingers. He hoped it would help calm both of their nerves.

The door opened and a mildly annoyed red head stood in the doorway. She leaned on the doorpost looking Annie over. She snapped her attention back to Bones. She drew in an exasperated sigh.

"Leonard," she acknowledged.

"Theresa," he returned. He gripped Annie's hand tighter.

"Who's this? Some poor Starfleet nurse you've convinced to put up with you?" His ex-wife sneered. Annie took a deep breath and put on her bravest smile.

"Hi, I'm Annie, Len's fiancé. It's nice to meet you," she said cheerily. She extended her hand to the red head. It took a couple of seconds of Theresa staring at her disapprovingly, for Annie to give up and lower her hand.

"Fiancé, huh?" She inquired. "Well that one I didn't see coming."

"Honestly, neither did I," Bones almost laughed. Theresa crossed her arms.

"Well, y'all might as well come in," she huffed. The moment they stepped in the door, a young red headed child ran up to Bones.

"Daddy!" She exclaimed as she jumped into the doctor's arms. He hugged her close to himself.

"Hey, sweetheart," he said. "How have ya been? Been good for your mother?" She rocked back and forth on her feet as she nodded. Annie silently thought about how adorable the little girl was. Joanna looked up at Annie.

"Who is that?" Joanna asked, pointing at the brunette. Leonard looked back at her and she smiled reassuringly. He reached a hand out to her and she took it, crouching down with him to the little girl's level.

"This is my," he stopped looking at her again. "Annie," he finished. "This is my Annie." She smiled and playfully nudged him with her shoulder; a gesture not unnoticed by Theresa. He kissed her cheek and turned back to his daughter.

"She's pretty," the little girl gushed.

"Why, thank you," Annie replied. Joanna held up the small rag doll in her hand.

"Do you like dolls?" She asked. Annie nodded.

"I do. Would you like to see a trick?" she offered. Joanna shook her head eagerly. She extended her hand to the doll. "May I?" The child handed over the doll and Annie sat back on her feet. She sat the doll on the ground and, raising her hand over it, made it stand up. She moved the legs around with the arms to make it dance and walk, before the newly animated toy leapt back into its owner's arms.

Joanna's eyes widened along with her smile.

"That's so cool!" She exclaimed. "Are you a fairy? I have a book about fairies in my room!" Annie laughed a little.

"No, but it is a bit like magic, isn't it?" She looked at Bones who was just staring at her. He leaned over and kissed the side of her temple.

"You're amazing," he whispered before he pulled away. Annie's eyes lit up as she smiled back at him. Leonard looked back at Joanna and watched her dance with her doll. Annie glanced over at Theresa who was trying hard not to look impressed. When Theresa caught her, she rolled her eyes and stepped forward.

"Look, Leonard, why don't you take Jo outside to play. Annie and I have some talking to do," she said, a bit warmer than Annie or Leonard expected.

Leonard looked at Annie with uncertainty but she kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"Go ahead," she whispered. He nodded and kissed her back. He stood up and took his daughter's hand to lead her outside. Annie stood up as well and watched them go.

"You really are in love with him," a voice came from behind her. Annie turned to Bones's ex-wife in a bit of consternation.

"Of course I am," she replied, unconsciously twisting the ring on her finger. Theresa shrugged and walked into the kitchen. Annie turned around and took a seat on the couch. The red head came back into the room with two mugs of tea that steamed slightly. She handed one to Annie who thanked her and grasped it in her hands. Theresa took her own seat in the plush chair and studied Annie.

"That's a pretty plain ring," she huffed, leaning back. "Mine wasn't prefect but it wasn't a dark little metal thing." Annie shrugged.

"It was his grandfather's and it means a lot to him," she answered looking at the small band. She glanced out the window to where Bones was pushing his daughter on the swing set.

"Well, alright then," Theresa snorted causing Annie to look back at her. "Look, sweetie, I'm gonna tell it to you straight. You don't know what you're getting into with Leonard. Sure he seems mysterious and guarded. Lord knows that's how I fell for him. But he doesn't love back. Not completely." Annie had to fight to keep herself from reacting. She remembered how he had pushed her away on Condan. She wondered for a moment if Theresa was right.

But then she shook the thought from her head, remembering that this was all a rouse. Her rouse, to be exact, and therefore she shouldn't be affected by his ex-wife's jealousy. But it still stung a little.

Outwardly, however, she smiled as she shook her head and looked Theresa square in the eye.

"I think that maybe it just took the right person," she responded. Theresa looked angry and bit her tongue just as Leonard reentered that house holding Joanna in his arms. Annie stood up and set the untouched mug of tea on the table. She walked over to Leonard and Joanna.

"Did you have fun?" She asked the little girl who smiled widely. Bones set the girl down who ran over to her mother, giggling about something that had happened outside. Annie took this time to lean up and kiss Bones firmly on the lips. She wrapped her right hand around his head and he pulled her into his arms, one between her shoulder blades and the other around her waist.

They stayed like that for a few moments before they broke apart to the sound of little Joanna laughing and clapping.

"Yay," she cheered. "Daddy loves a fairy!" Leonard rolled his eyes but smiled as he wound his arm around Annie's waist and kissed the side of her head.

"Yes he does," he chuckled. He would have kissed her again but his comm went off. He sighed as he checked it. Annie saw him begin to scowl and she turned to him.

"What is it?" she asked. He closed the device and shoved it back in his pocket.

"Some planet called Niribu has an active volcano that Starfleet would like the Enterprise to survey. It's class M but it could wipe out any progress they've made. We have to report back in the morning," he answered. Annie understood that Bones wanted more time with his daughter but she knew that duty called. She glanced outside and saw that it was already dark out before she turned to Theresa and Joanna.

"It's been lovely meeting you, but we really have to go," she said. Joanna frowned and ran over to them.

"I wish you could stay. I like you," she pouted. Annie crouched down and hugged her.

"I like you, too," she replied. The little girl squeezed her tight before turning to her father.

"I love you daddy," she said and Leonard picked her up into his arms.

"Love you too, sweetheart," he responded, kissing her cheek before setting her down. Bones and Annie made their way over to the door.

"It really was nice to meet you," Annie said to Theresa, extending her hand again. This time, Theresa took it but only for a moment.

"Enjoy the time you have with him," she sneered her final jab, "before he leaves you." Annie smiled at her in response.

"I will," she threw back, surprising Theresa and Bones. He took the brunette's hand and together they made their way down the driveway to the car.


	18. Chapter 18

They drove to a small motel in the city. They had rented a room for the night with the intentions of being able to spend the following day alone with Joanna but, now that the plan had fallen through, they decided to spend the night in Georgia anyway before flying back to headquarters in the morning.

Annie was sitting on the desk chair, combing her hair when Bones walked into the room from the bathroom in his sweatpants and t-shirt. Annie noticed that his sweatpants were Starfleet issue, as were her own. Bones sat down on the bed and remained silent for a long time.

"Well that was fun," Annie offered. She noticed that he didn't even look up. "I almost believed us." Leonard chuckled a bit to himself.

"How did you even think of that?" He asked. Annie shrugged.

"I saw it in a movie once. It's always easier to deal with someone like Theresa when she thinks you're happy. It gives her less to hold over you," she explained.

"And now that you've met my nasty ex-wife," he began, grumbling.

"She's not that nasty," she insisted. "A little jealous maybe, but nasty isn't quite the word I would use."

"Jealous?" He asked. "Of what?" Annie shook her head and stood up. She set the comb down and walked over to the bed and sat down next to the doctor. She propped one leg on the bed so that she could look straight at him.

"Of you, I think, for getting out of here and seeing the galaxy. Maybe of me, because she thinks I won you," she trailed off. Leonard looked confused.

"Won me?" He inquired.

"She still loves you, you know," she answered. "Maybe not exactly love but I have a feeling that she was only okay with giving you up because she didn't think you would find anyone else." Leonard thought for a moment.

"Well, even if that's true, she was wrong about me not finding anyone else," he prompted. Annie glanced at him in surprise and confusion. Neither said anything for a time so Annie decided to let it go and returned to the desk chair to finish combing her hair.

"She's a beautiful girl," Annie said, trying to break his silence. "She looks a lot like you. Except the hair maybe."

"Yeah, she's a good kid," he mumbled to himself.

"And she thinks the world of you," Annie added. Bones looked over at her.

"She seemed to take to you pretty well too," he chuckled a little. Annie set down her comb once more and leaned on the back of the chair.

"Well I'm a fairy, so," she winked at him and he laughed. He stood up and scooped her into his arms and swung her around as she squealed.

"Leonard, put me down," she laughed. He dropped her onto the bed and he sat down next to her, leaning over her small frame. Annie sat up and found herself mere inches from his face. She reached up a hand and ran it from his hair to his jawline, leaving it there as he leaned into it. She leaned a little closer, staring him in the eye. She was about to close her eyes when he turned away. She dropped her hand and scooted away from him.

"I don't get you," she whispered. She climbed off the bed and began to pace.

"What?" He asked. She sighed in exasperation.

"One moment I think you like me and the next, I'm not sure," she answered honestly. He ran a hand through his hair.

"Annie, I do like you. But you should be with Jim," he tried. "Jim, could give you everything, Annie. Don't you see that? I, on the other hand, mess up every relationship I've ever been in. You heard what Theresa said. Even she knows how lousy I can be." Annie stared at him for a long moment before her expression softened.

"Len, you keep trying to make this decision for me," she accused, "when it's my decision to make. What I do with my heart is up to me. Not you and not Jim either." Bones stood up and took a step towards her.

"Annie, I-"

"No," she cut him off, turning away. "No more of this foolish arguing. We have to be back at Starfleet early tomorrow and we will need our rest." He scowled but nodded, moving back to the bed and climbing under the covers.

She did the same, laying with her back to the doctor but rolled over to face him for a moment. She pulled the ring off her finger and held it out for him.

"Before I forget," she whispered. He took it and she rolled back over. His heart fell a little as he slipped it back onto his own finger.

"Lights," he said weakly as he closed his eyes.

* * *

Bones spent an hour or so awake, thinking about the day he had just experienced. Annie pretending to be his fiancé, Joanna taking to her right away, kissing Annie again and then their fight. They never fought but he quickly realized there were a lot of things Annie didn't do before she got her memories back that she did now. They weren't big things but for one, she was more sure of herself and less afraid. Bones liked that she was finding more confidence but he worried a little that she might change too much with all her memories.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt Annie shift in her sleep. She rolled over toward him and snuggled into his side. Not wanting to disturb her, he gently moved his arm from under his head to around her shoulder, placing his other hand on her waist. She snuggled closer and Leonard found that he was finally beginning to feel drowsy.

He woke up to her sleeping softly on his chest with his arms wrapped around her. He silently wished that he could wake up to her more often but instead kissed her head to wake her up.


	19. Chapter 19

They were back aboard the Enterprise in a matter of hours.

"How was the medical convention?" Jim asked Bones as they got off their shuttle.

"Huh?" Bones asked but quickly remembered the excuse they had given their captain for their visit down south. "Oh right, long and boring, like we figured it would be," he answered.

"Then I'll bet you were glad to get out of it, huh Bones?" Jim asked as he clasped his friend on the back.

"Sure," he grumbled as he headed off toward the medical bay.

Jim wasn't sure why Bones was in such a foul mood. He was usually grumpy, sure, but this was a whole other level of anger. Jim shrugged it off, figuring it was about all the flying he'd had to do in the last couple days.

He was on his was to the bridge when two small hands pulled him into an empty hallway.

It was Annie, he realized. She looked pensive about something.

"Annie, what's wrong," he asked. She looked up at him and stopped pacing. She bit her lips in thought for a moment before taking a deep breath. Then she took him completely off guard when she leaned up and kissed him.

She placed her hand gently on his cheek and he brought his up to her face as well. But he didn't feel lost in the kiss and neither did Annie. When they pulled away, Annie just looked more confused. Jim leaned against one of the walls. He almost chuckled to himself.

"You know, I always wanted to know what that would feel like," he admitted more to himself than Annie. Annie took a step back and leaned on the opposite wall.

"Me too," she replied. He looked back over to her. Studying her, he saw that she wasn't upset about the kiss or the fact that he had pulled away.

"But that wasn't quite how I thought it would go," he added.

"I don't know what I was expecting," she thought aloud.

"It was nice," he offered and Annie looked up at him, looking like she was about to laugh.

"But no sparks," she finished for him. "Not what it should feel like." He nodded. She stepped forward and kissed his cheek lightly. "I'm glad we at least got that settled," she admitted. He chuckled.

"Yeah, me too," he said as he pulled her in and hugged her. He pulled away and kissed her forehead. "I have to head to the bridge." She nodded.

"I think we both do," she replied, causing him to laugh. He took her hand and they walked together to the bridge.

* * *

Bones didn't miss the fact that Jim and Annie walked onto the bridge together, holding each other's hand. He tried not to let it upset him but he felt his heart drop a little.

Jim squeezed her hand and walked over to the captain's chair.

"What are the readings on the volcano, Mr. Spock?" He inquired as he took his seat.

"Not good, Captain," he admitted. "Our latest reports indicate that the volcano will erupt in the next 24 hours, killing over 97% of the native population."

"Shit," Bones grumbled. "Isn't there something we can do?"

"There is," Spock answered, "but it would be very risky and we would run the chance of violating Starfleet's prime directive."

"But it would save lives, dammit," Bones countered. Spock stood up and walked over to Leonard.

"Indeed it would, Doctor," he replied.

"What would we have to do," Annie asked. Spock turned to her.

"I have invented a cold fusion device that will freeze the rising lava from the volcano, rendering it inert. I would have to place it and set in on the surface of the volcano, while it is already erupting," he explained. Annie nodded.

"The problem?" Jim inquired. This time Pavel answered.

"Ve vouldn't be able to beam him down or up. The smoke interferes vith our ability to safely transport him onto the surface unless ve are directly above him," the young Russian explained.

"Which would reveal our ship to the natives," Annie finished.

"Exactly," he answered. Everyone was silent for a moment.

"What about a shuttle?" Jim asked. "It would be concealed by the smoke."

"Sir, the shuttle's aren't made for that kind of heat," Sulu insisted.

"It may not hold for long but I believe that could work," Spock disagreed. Uhura looked down at her computer.

"What about the natives? It says here they live in caves around the volcano," she informed them. Jim smirked and looked over at Bones.

"Then we'll have to draw them out," he said. Bones's eyes got wide.

"Aw hell no, you are not dragging me onto some planet to distract a bunch of natives," he objected.

"Come on Bones, you're the one that wanted to save the species," Jim prodded. Leonard rolled his eyes.

"Fine," he huffed and Annie almost started laughing.

"Wait, how do we get onto the planet?" Annie asked. Jim looked down in thought.

"Under the dark of nightfall, we should be able to conceal our ship," Spock answered. "But where." Jim looked up suddenly and comm-ed engineering.

"Scotty, are you there?" He asked.

"Aye Captain," came the response.

"Scotty, how long can the ship survive underwater?" Bones snapped his attention to the captain.

"Are you out of your damn mind?" Bones hissed. Jim gave him a warning look.

"Scotty?" He tried again.

"Sir, the ship's not exactly made for it but I think she could last a day or two," he answered. Jim smiled and nodded.

"Good, chart a course for Niribu and punch it," he instructed. Sulu pressed a few buttons and pushed the lever. Annie began to feel dizzier than she ever had going to warp. She wasn't sure what it was, but since Condan, the dizzy spells had gotten worse. Though she wasn't about to admit it to Bones.

She felt her knees give out just as two strong arms wrapped around her waist. She leaned back on the figure until she could stand on her own again. She turned around in their arms and came face to face with Bones. He looked concerned and removed one of his hands from her waist to tilt her head up.

"You okay?" He asked softly. She smiled at him and kissed his cheek softly.

"Yes, thank you," she said before turning back to the bridge of the ship. He didn't want to leave her side but they arrived at Niribu rather swiftly and he had to go get outfitted for the mission. Jim left to go with him and stopped at Annie.

"When Spock leaves, you have to con. If anything goes wrong, you get the crew out of here," he instructed. She nodded and the boys left to head to the transporter bay.


	20. Chapter 20

Once Kirk and Bones were in position, the crew settled in for the night. Knowing that Jim and Leonard were on the planet alone, left Annie without the ability to sleep. Since Spock was still in charge until he, Uhura and Sulu left in the morning, Annie took a walk around the ship. She often walked around the engineering bay during long spans off duty. Following all of the pipes helped her clear her mind.

"It's a little late to be running around, don't ya think, Lassie?" Scotty asked from behind her. She chuckled as she turned around. She figured she would run into him eventually.

"A bit, I guess," she answered.

"Something on your mind?" He asked. She nodded and he gestured for her to walk with him.

"Do I seem different to you, ya know, since everything that happened on Condan?" she started. Scotty thought for a moment.

"Perhaps," he replied. "But it would hardly be surprising. If anything those two boys down there on planet had a lot to do with it." Annie took a minute to think about what he had said.

"But is it a bad thing? To change, I mean." Scotty laughed as he shook his head.

"Lassie, I don't think that you need to worry about anything," he said as he stopped and placed a hand on her shoulder. She smiled a little. She resumed walking and he stayed with her.

"Is it possible that by me changing, it might change what other people think about me; what they feel about me?" She asked.

"Well, no, actually, I don't think so," he answered. She looked curiously at him.

"No?" Scotty shook his head.

"Nope, do you want to know why?" He prompted. She nodded. "Because, my dear, you are one special lady. No amount of recovered memories could change who you really are and that's why people care about you." She smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said.

"Of course, Lassie. Now get some sleep. You'll need it tomorrow."

Annie was grateful that this time, she was able to fall asleep.

* * *

The night didn't pass much easier for Kirk or Bones on the planet. Bones couldn't help his nerves about spending the night on an undeveloped planet and Jim kept thinking about his kiss with Annie. He had been so sure that he was in love with her that he hadn't stopped to consider that it was all in his head. He rolled over onto his side to look at Bones who was staring at the stars.

He opened his mouth to speak but shut it. He thought for a moment but decided that maybe he should just try to sleep. He was about to roll back over when Bones spoke up.

"What is it Jim?" He asked. Jim glanced over at him.

"Just thinking," he replied. He stayed silent for a while staring at the stars. Bones quickly became impatient.

"Dammit, Jim, about what?" He prodded.

"I kissed Annie, or rather she kissed me," he admitted. Bones immediately regretted asking. "And I realized something. Something I totally should have already known."

"I'm pretty sure you already knew, Jim. You've just been lying to yourself for a while," Bones grumbled. Jim thought about it for a moment.

"I think you're right," he remarked. "And to think she felt the same way." Leonard couldn't take it any longer.

"Well, I think it's time for bed," he said, a bit angrier than he had intended. He rolled onto his side, away from Jim, and pulled the blanket over his head.

"You don't have to be nervous, Bones," Jim quipped. Bones only ignored him as he laid there trying not to think about how broken hearted he felt. He knew now that he hadn't even felt this when his wife filed for divorce. His heart had never hurt like this before and he needed to stop thinking about it or he feared he might do something rash.

* * *

When the morning came, Spock, Uhura and Sulu took their shuttle to the volcano and Annie took the controls of the Enterprise.

She knew that Bones and Jim had entered one of the caves but hadn't heard anything from them since. Suddenly, Kirk was hailing the ship.

"Kirk to Shuttle One. Neutralize the volcano so that we can get out of here," he shouted. Annie noted that he sounded like he was in distress. Moments later, the shuttle had lost Spock who was now stranded on the volcano. Sulu also comm-ed that Jim and Bones would have to find their own way to the Enterprise. Realizing Jim's next move, she patched herself in.

"Jim don't you dare," she ordered. The crew all turned to look at her.

"Dare do what?" Bones demanded.

"Annie, you know it's the only way," Jim replied. "We'll be back in a few minutes, I promise." Annie tried not to worry as she sat down. She had Chekov open the channel to engineering.

"Yes, Ma'am," he replied.

"Scotty," she started. "Captain Kirk and Doctor McCoy are going to be entering through the air hatch near the hanger bay. I need you to meet them there."

"What happened to the shuttle?" He asked.

"It's not going to make it back. Mr. Sulu and Lieutenant Uhura will be along shortly," she answered.

"Aye ma'am," he replied and the line went dead. Moments later, Jim and Bones were back on the bridge. Annie stepped back and off the bridge. She hoped no one noticed her go. She couldn't afford to be on the bridge when they went back to warp. She feared that her reactions to the radiation were going to get worse.


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys. I'm so sorry this is late but I've been in the hospital all day. Everything's good now though so here's today's two chapters.**

* * *

She had been right about going into warp. As soon as they had rescued Spock, the ship had jumped to warp to get back home. This time, the dizzy spell hurt. Her head ached immensely for a moment and she felt nauseous along with it. She reached up to put a hand over her mouth and was worried when it came away bloody. She reached up again and discovered that her nose was bleeding.

She swiftly pinched it shut and took off toward the medical bay. The nurse who saw her looked alarmed.

"What happened?" She gasped.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," she replied. The nurse simply nodded and helped Annie patch up her nose.

* * *

She didn't see much of Jim or Bones in the time it took them to get back to Earth. When the shuttles landed, she left her shuttle and met up with them.

"How about dinner at my place?" She offered. She was grateful to see them both alive after everything that had taken place and figured that dinner was her best way to show it.

Bones hesitated a moment, unsure if Annie's intention was to be alone with Jim or not. He was about to decline when Jim spoke up.

"I think I might pass. I've got a hot date with twins I've been putting off," he said. Leonard thought it was a joke but he saw that Jim was completely serious. He was shocked, thinking that if Annie and Jim had decided to start seeing each other, he shouldn't still be picking up other dates. He looked over at Annie who looked amused but not at all upset.

"Suit yourself. Just remember they're usually more flexible than you," she joked. Leonard only felt more confused. "How about you, Len?" He took a moment to recover.

"Sure, I'd like that," he replied and she broke out into a wide smile.

"See you at seven," she cheered as she left. Bones watched her go until he heard Jim chuckle.

"You'll save a lot of time if you just tell her," Jim said to the doctor. Leonard turned around.

"Tell her what?" He inquired.

"Ah, come on Bones. That you're in love with her!" Jim explained. Bones couldn't believe his ears.

"Dammit Jim, what the hell are you talking about?" Leonard snapped a bit too hastily. Jim only laughed.

"Better snatch her up, before someone else does," he warned as he walked away. Bones just stood and stared into space. He'd thought that someone already had.

* * *

He knocked on her door precisely at seven that night. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous but he had to fight the urge to turn back and return to his own apartment.

She opened the door to usher him in. He was glad he hadn't dressed up too much as she wore only jogging capris and a t-shirt. He shut the door and watched her reenter the kitchen.

He was too busy staring at the kitchen door that he didn't notice that she had slipped out of the kitchen carrying two plates of food. She set them down and looked at him, her arms crossed over her chest.

"Something on your mind?" She asked and he snapped his attention back to her. She looked amused.

"It's nothing," he insisted. She rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she conceded. "If you're not going to tell me, I won't pry." He almost laughed as he took a seat.

She let him clean up the dishes after dinner. She was exhausted and didn't feel like arguing with him if she knew he would win in the end.

She sat on her couch, trying to massage a sore spot in her neck. It had been bothering her since she woke up that morning.

"May I?" Bones startled her as he asked. She looked up at him and nodded. He took a seat next to her and she turned so that he could reach her neck.

Annie couldn't help the butterflies in her chest as his hands worked over her shoulders and neck. She closed her eyes and smiled contently. In minutes, the tension she had felt was gone, replaced by the feeling of his strong hands on her muscles.

She felt his hands slow and he surprised her when he bent down to kiss the spot that had been sore.

Suddenly she had a flash of a memory of a different man's lips on her bare skin. In an instant, she had turned away and scrambled to the other end of the couch. Terrified that he had hurt her, Bones rushed to her side. He noticed her breathing had quickened exponentially and he was desperate to find the cause.

"Annie, I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" He asked. Annie took a few deep breaths when she realized it was only Leonard in front of her. Shaking slightly, she shook her head.

"No, Len, not at all. I promise that it didn't hurt me," she replied. He relaxed a little.

"Then what...?" He started to ask. Annie couldn't look at him to answer the question.

"He used to do that, ya know, when I least expected it. And just now I saw him and it frightened me," she explained. Leonard was horrified and shocked and angry all at once. He sat back down on the couch and wrapped his arms around Annie.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't know," he apologized. She hugged him back, leaning into him slightly.

"It's not your fault. It's just, with my memories back, I have a feeling any level of intimacy is going to be difficult for me," she said softly. He shifted so that she could snuggle into his side on the couch. "I'll just have to replace the bad memories with good ones. Like this," she looked up at him and smiled. "This is nice." He smiled at her as he wrapped an arm around her.


	22. Chapter 22

She woke up the next morning in her own bed. She moved to get up but discovered a strong hand draped over her side. She rolled over to find Leonard sleeping peacefully on the other side of the bed. She was confused for a moment before she recalled the events of the night before.

 _They had been watching a movie when she fell asleep the first time. Leonard had almost laughed at her small peaceful frame when suddenly her face began to contort._

 _"No," she whispered in her dream. "No, please stop!" She was getting louder and beginning to squirm. Bones began to worry and he propped her up, holding her shoulders gently._

 _"Annie, wake up!" He ordered. She pushed him away in her fearful state and tried to get away, falling off the couch in the process._

 _Bones slid to his knees and back to her. Her eyes snapped open but there was no recognition in them. She crawled backward until her back was against the wall. She looked terrified and Bones worried that this wasn't the first time Annie had woken up like this since Condan. Finally realizing what had happened, she began to sob silently._

 _Slowly he made his way over to her. He noticed that as she got her bearings again, she seemed to calm down a little. He moved until he sat next to her, back against the wall, and pulled her onto his lap. It wasn't the first time they had been in this position, him cradling her over his lap and Annie remembered what a mess she had been that day as well._

 _"I'm sorry I'm such a wreck," she whispered once she had found her voice again. Bones hugged her closer._

 _"No, don't be. I'd be worried if you weren't," he assured her. She seemed to relax in his arms and he just held her until she got herself to stop crying._

 _"I feel like a little kid," she admitted softly and Leonard chuckled._

 _"I don't mind it," he replied. "Anytime you need me, I'm down the hall." He kissed the side of her head and she finally began to feel tired again. He noticed that she was starting to doze off again, so he shifted so he could pick her up and carry her back to her bedroom. He set her down and after tucking her in, turned to leave._

 _He was stopped by a small hand on his wrist._

 _"Please don't go," she whispered. He nodded slightly although she couldn't see and walked around the bed to crawl in with her._

* * *

Bones woke up to the smell of food. He realized he was not in his own bedroom. He stretched and rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he rolled out of bed. He made his way to the kitchen where Annie was setting breakfast out.

"Good morning," she said cheerfully. She didn't miss that he looked a bit confused but she brushed it off and she went about pouring him a cup of coffee.

They ate in mostly silence until they were done. As Bones moved to start cleaning up, he stopped and looked at her.

"I don't get it," he said. She turned back to him.

"Get what?" She asked. She worried he might say something about her nightmare last night but that was far from what was on his mind.

"You," he replied. "Shouldn't you be with your boyfriend; making him breakfast?" She laughed, thinking maybe he had lost it.

"What boyfriend? Len, are you feeling okay?" she asked. She moved to place her wrist on his forehead but he stepped back.

"You two don't have to pretend with me. I won't report you," he insisted.

"Report us? God Len, what are you talking about?" She persisted.

"You and Jim!" He exclaimed. "He told me about you two while we were on Niribu. He said you had kissed him and had both realized you felt the same way about each other. How can you act like I don't know?" He was seething and, while he felt bad for his outburst, he felt it needed to be said. She couldn't go on toying with his emotions like this.

He watched her carefully as she sighed deeply, rubbing a hand over her face. She then began to chuckle lightly and Leonard thought maybe she had gone mad.

"Did you happen to ask Jim what the feelings were that we 'figured out'?" She inquired. He shook his head.

"I didn't need to. I've known this whole time," he responded, turning away from her. Annie couldn't believe how stubborn he was being.

"Well if you had, you would know that the kiss meant nothing. We both agreed that we didn't like each other. Not like that," she laughed. Leonard turned back around, confused.

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me. I said that Jim and I are just friends, nothing more. I may love him but I'm not in love with him," she replied. Leonard couldn't help the relieved smile that broke out on his face. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I told you the decision was mine. I kissed him because you kept insisting I was missing something. And it turns out I wasn't." Leonard laughed incredulously. "Besides, what's it to you?" she prompted.

Leonard thought about telling her everything, laying all his cards on the table. He thought about how he couldn't stop thinking about her, how every time they went to warp, he worried about her and how seeing her, sleeping by his side, had made his heart flip in his chest. But he couldn't find the words. He saw Annie sigh slightly as she gave up.

"Never mind, forget I asked," she said. She turned to walk away but Leonard took two long strides to catch her. He turned her around and kissed her as strongly as he could. He took her face in his hands as he deepened the kiss, hoping she would understand what he was trying to tell her. She kissed him back eagerly, surprised by his tenacity.

When they pulled apart, Annie waited for him to say something. She hoped that he would explain why he had kissed her. She figured she already knew but she wanted to hear him say it.

He remained silent and once again, Annie felt a bit disappointed. But it wasn't that he hadn't admitted his feelings but that she had expected him to. She knew Leonard wasn't one to talk about his feelings a lot and she suddenly felt foolish wanting him to. She smiled at him a bit brokenly before moving to leave his embrace.

Bones couldn't let her go. Not now that they were so close. He realized in that moment how he truly felt about her. As she took a few steps to her bedroom, his voice stopped her.

"I'm in love with you," he said, his voice barely a whisper. She stopped in her tracks. "I should have told you before but I didn't realize until just now: I'm the one in love with you." She turned around and smiled sincerely at him.

"I was beginning to think you'd never figure it out," she replied as he closed the distance again to kiss her. "I love you too," she whispered.


	23. Chapter 23

They spent the rest of the day lazily relaxing on her couch. Bones had left only to change clothes before returning, kissing her firmly when he entered. Bones reveled in the fact that he could kiss her without hesitation now.

They were surprised that they hadn't heard from Jim in all the time they had been back. Annie wasn't sure if she should worry but figured that if something had happened, they would have been notified.

Not much longer after she had come to that conclusion, Bones's comm had gone off. He answered it immediately and his face fell as he listened.

"I'll be right there," he said gravely as he hung up. He wordlessly got up and grabbed his shoes.

"What is it?" Annie asked, coming up behind him. He turned and kissed her lightly.

"There's been an attack on a commanders meeting at Starfleet headquarters. They need me and the other Senior Medical Staffers to check on the wounded," he answered. Annie felt her stomach drop.

"Jim," she squeaked out. "And Spock." Bones sighed.

"I don't know. I'll call you when I know more," he said. She wanted to object and request to go with him but decided against it. She knew he would only refuse. So she leaned up and kissed him, sending him off.

She found quickly that she couldn't stay in her apartment by herself not knowing what was going on. She threw on a jacket and shoes and was about to open the door when someone was knocking on the other side. She opened the door to find a red-faced Jim on the other side.

"Jim?" She asked confused and a bit concerned.

"Are you on your way somewhere? I can come back," he said weakly. Annie shook her head and moved so that he could enter he apartment.

"No," she answered as he entered. "I was actually headed to find you. Are you okay? Len said that there was an attack on a commanders meeting which means you and Spock," she stopped as he began to look more distraught.

"Pike's gone," was all he said. Annie was confused.

"How? Pike's not a captain anymore," she thought aloud. Jim realized that he hadn't told Annie or Bones what had happened with Pike once they had arrived back. He took a deep breath and sat down on her couch. He put his head in his hands. Annie took a seat next to him, touching his arm gently.

"Spock reported what happened on Niribu. Starfleet gave the Enterprise back to Pike. So Pike named me first officer," he began to explain.

"And Spock?" She prodded.

"Was reassigned to the Bradbury," he finished. Annie nodded. "But the meeting was attacked. Pike, he didn't make it." Annie hugged her friend tightly as he started to tear up.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. She wished that she could offer more comfort but she wasn't sure how. "He was so proud of you," she assured him as she kissed his cheek. "I'll make you some tea." She stood up and walked to the kitchen.

Minutes later she returned with two steaming mugs of tea. She gave one to Jim who thanked her and took a sip. She sat at the other end of the couch, propping herself against the armrest to face him.

"Who was it?" She asked after a time.

"A Starfleet officer named John Harrison. He bombed the archives a couple of days ago which is why they called the meeting," Jim answered.

"So it was a trap," she deduced. Jim nodded.

"It looks like it. If only I had figured it out sooner," he thought aloud. Annie sat up.

"Jim, this is not your fault. There was nothing more you could have done. We will find Harrison, I promise, and avenge Pike. Blaming yourself isn't going to solve anything," she pleaded. He seemed to think for a minute before yawning.

Annie noticed that he looked exhausted.

"Jim, how long has it been since you slept?" She asked. Jim shrugged.

"Not since we were on Niribu I think. I was out late last night and they called me and Spock in early this morning," he answered. Annie shook her head.

"You need to rest if you're going to be any use to Starfleet. Go back in my bedroom and lie down," she instructed. Jim smirked as he got up off the couch.

"Okay, Mom," he joked as he pressed a kiss to her cheek and headed back into the back room.


	24. Chapter 24

It was a couple of hours before Leonard got back to the apartment building. The meeting had been small and most of the injuries had been fairly minor but there had also been a few casualties that needed taken care of.

Bones couldn't get the image of Captain Pike's lifeless body being carted out of the building. He hated the fact that this attack had taken the life of someone he respected so much.

When he got back, he immediately went to his apartment to change and shower. He had blood all over his uniform and as much as he wanted to tell Annie what he now knew had happened, he figured she would rather not have him tracking in blood.

He was out of his apartment in a flash and rushed over to Annie's. He knocked twice and the door opened almost immediately afterward. He was surprised when Annie shushed him before ushering him inside.

"Jim's still asleep," she explained. Bones was confused and unsure of why Jim was sleeping in Annie's apartment. "He came over and told me about Pike. He looked so tired so I told him to get some sleep. I figured if he stayed here, I could make sure he's okay. He was really shaken up." Bones nodded.

"It's not a pretty sight," he replied. "Debris everywhere and the amount of injuries was really high." Annie seemed to think for a moment before leaning back on the arm of the couch. Bones took a few steps toward her, lifting a hand to her face. "Hey, what's wrong?" He whispered.

She looked up at him and shook her head.

"It's just a lot to process, you know, everything that's happened in the last couple days," she answered. Bones suddenly thought about their discussion that morning and worried that she regretted it.

"Annie, if you're not sure about this," he paused when she snapped her attention back to him.

"Len, that's not what I meant," she stopped him and he let out the breath he was unaware that he was holding. "I'm just worried about what happens next with everything else." She stepped away from him and stared at the wall as she thought aloud. "Admiral Marcus is going to have to send someone after Harrison and odds are, Jim is going to be the first to volunteer. I don't know where he's hiding but I have a feeling it's somewhere treacherous. That's what worries me."

Bones suddenly thought about the rest of the crew. He began thinking that it wouldn't be wise to tell the crew about their change in relationship status just yet. He sat down on the couch, running a hand through his hair. Annie turned around when he hadn't said anything for a while.

"What are you thinking?" She asked quietly.

"That maybe we should keep this a secret, you know, us," he answered. Annie sighed and sat down next to him.

"I'm starting to think I should stop asking what you're thinking," she replied. He looked at her in surprise.

"Why?" He inquired hoping she would disagree with him. He hoped she would say she didn't care who knew.

"Because it's never what I expect you'll say," she answered instead. He looked back down at his hands. "But if that's what you're thinking, maybe you're right." Annie didn't want Leonard to see that his decision had upset her so she stood up and turned away from him.

"Annie," he started. She turned around and gave him a small smile.

"I should go check on Jim," was all she said as she left the room.

When Annie entered the room, Jim was already preparing to leave.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?" Annie inquired, a bit worried. Jim looked at her with determination in his eyes.

"Scotty found something in the wreckage of Harrison's ship. Spock and I are going to meet him," he answered. He pressed a kiss to her cheek as he ran out of the room. He ran past Bones stopping only to nod at him as he left the apartment.

Bones looked back at Annie leaning on the doorway.

"What's his hurry?" He grumbled slightly. Annie shrugged and pushed off the doorframe.

"Scotty found something. Told ya he'd be the first to want to go after Harrison," she answered. She moved to go into the kitchen but Bones intercepted her. He brought his hands up to her face and kissed her.

"About earlier, it doesn't mean my feelings have changed," he insisted causing her to smile a little. "I still love you." Annie brought a hand up to cup his cheek as she kissed him lightly.

"I know," she replied. "Come on, I have a feeling we are going to get called in any minute now."


	25. Chapter 25

Annie was proven correct when, twenty minutes later, they got the call to report to the shuttle bay. When they got there, Leonard squeezed her hand.

"I've got to go, it says here Jim didn't show up for his physical," he grumbled, shaking his head. Annie almost laughed.

"Did you really think he would? Especially if it was scheduled with someone other than you?" She asked. Bones seemed to think for a moment before chuckling himself.

"One of these days, I'm going to kick his stubborn ass," he remarked.

Annie laughed as she walked away. As much as she wanted to stay with Leonard, she hadn't seen Uhura since Niribu and she knew her friend hadn't reacted well to Spock's near death experience.

She boarded Shuttle B and took her seat next to Nyota. As it took off, Annie took a brief moment to get over her dizzy spell before she glanced over at her friend.

"Hey," she greeted cautiously. Uhura gave her a halfhearted smile.

"Hey," Nyota returned. Annie waited a minute for her friend to continue. Realizing Uhura was still locked in her own head, Annie spoke up instead.

"Did you ever talk to him?" she asked. Uhura shook her head in defeat. When they had arrived back at headquarters, Uhura had been upset by Spock's apparent acceptance of death. Annie had urged her friend to confront Spock about it but she saw now it had been to no avail.

"He won't talk about it. I asked him how he felt and he said he didn't feel anything. He actually had the nerve to remind me that he was half-Vulcan and doesn't feel emotions like me," she answered angrily.

"I'm sure he didn't mean it like that," Annie tried to counter. "Men always tend to stick their feet in their mouths." Uhura snapped her attention back to her friend. She could tell that Annie didn't just mean Spock.

"What did Jim do this time?" she asked in an attempt to lighten the mood. Annie shook her head.

"It wasn't Jim," Annie replied in no more than a whisper. Uhura tried to cover her shock but couldn't stifle the small gasp that escaped her mouth. If it wasn't Jim, then it had to be…

"Annie, what happened? What did he say?" Annie thought about the past day and a half.

"He told me he loved me," she answered. "But then he asked that we not tell anyone. It was like he was ashamed of me." Uhura hugged her friend close.

"Oh Annie, that's not true at all. He really does love you, everyone can see it. Whatever his reason for keeping it a secret, I'm sure it has nothing to do with you." Annie began to nod slowly as the shuttle docked on the Enterprise. Once the shuttle had stopped completely, the girls left the shuttle together to head toward their posts.

They were amicably chatting away when Bones caught up to them on their way to the bridge. Annie could tell immediately that something was seriously upsetting him. He didn't even seem to notice them as he blew past them.

"Len," Annie called after him. Leonard kept walking until she called after him again. "Leonard!" Bones swung around quickly and Annie had to stop short to avoid running into him. His expression considerably softened once he saw who was calling after him.

"Annie," he greeted in return. Uhura noted that he even had a small blush rise to his cheeks.

"Len what's wrong? You look furious," Annie asked.

"It's Captain Kirk isn't it?" Uhura added, a knowing smile on her face. Leonard closed his eyes as he let out a large sigh.

"He's not okay. His BP is off the charts and he won't let me check anything else. He's so damn wrapped up in this suicide mission. He actually intends to fire torpedoes at the Klingons!" Bones took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down. Even Uhura was stunned into silence. He watched Annie slowly digest everything he had just said. He had to fight the urge to kiss the confused expression off her face. Eventually, Annie nodded her head before she spoke.

"We're all emotional on this one. I'll watch him but if he says he's okay, then that's probably what he needs to do to cope. But I am going to talk to him about the torpedoes but I want to talk to Scotty first," Annie finally said. Leaning towards him, she gave Leonard one quick peck on the cheek before she headed to Engineering.

Bones nodded to Uhura once before he headed to the medical bay.

"Doctor," Nyota called after him. Leonard swiftly turned around to address her. "If you hurt her, I will kill you." And with that, she turned on her heel and headed towards the bridge.

* * *

Annie reached Engineering rather quickly. She set to trying to find Scotty but was surprised to see Pavel Chekov in a red shirt running from station to station.

"Pavel?" she asked upon reaching him. "What are you doing here?" Pavel looked frantic but smiled when he saw her.

"Um," he started. "I don't reelly know. Meester Scott resigned and Kirk named me chief."

"Scotty quit? What the hell did Jim do?" she replied. Pavel only shrugged before continuing to check the station they were at.

"I think it's about the torpedoes," he answered. "Everything about them is classified." His comment only served to worry Annie more. She was about to say something else when Jim came on over the comm. Annie was pleasantly surprised to hear that the mission no longer consisted of just destroying the Klingon planet. He signed off by asking Annie to meet the ground crew in the shuttle bay. So she said her goodbyes to Chekov and headed to the bridge.

Annie hadn't gotten far when the ship went to warp. Knowing what was about to happen, she braced herself against the wall and held her nose tight. Once she got her bearings she changed directions and headed to the med-bay. She was just outside the doors when the ship lurched, sending Annie into the wall. She caught herself to avoid any actual injuries but her nose persisted in bleeding. _At least now I have an excuse,_ she thought.

The head nurse patched her up quickly and she hurried to meet Jim, Spock and Uhura in the shuttle bay.


	26. Chapter 26

**I'm so so so so sooooo sorry. I didn't have access to a computer yesterday so I couldn't post new chapters but here you are. And this one is another particular favorite of mine...**

* * *

Annie gripped her own controls in the small ship. The ship that was chasing them was superior to theirs in every possible way. She watched as Jim steered them towards a small alley between two buildings.

"We'll fit, we'll fit!" He insisted.

Annie quickly realized that he was wrong. The opening at the end was going to be too small. Thinking on her feet, she extended her hand and bent the sides of the building away from the ship allowing it to slide through.

"Told ya we'd fit," he said to Spock.

"I'm not sure that qualifies," Spock quipped back. But it was all in vain as they were confronted with the Klingon vessel once more. Annie listened as they ordered the ship to land but she let Uhura translate. When she offered to try to reason with the Klingon patrol, Annie agreed to stay back and translate for the rest of the crew.

Annie carefully translated Uhura's losing argument. She was terrified when the Klingon hoisted her friend into the air. She saw Spock tense as well.

Suddenly, John Harrison, the man they had come to collect, began firing on the Klingons. Annie followed Kirk and Spock as they ran into the fight.

It was over before they knew it and were left with only themselves and Harrison.

"How many torpedoes are there?" He demanded as he shot Spock's phaser out of his hands. "The weapons you threatened me with in your message, how many are there?"

"Seventy-two," Spock answered. Harrison threw his gun aside.

"I surrender," he said. Kirk accepted the man's surrender. He then proceeded to try to punch the man over and over. Annie realized he was only going to hurt himself and trapped him in a force field.

"Captain!" Uhura yelled. Jim glared at Annie but took a step back and she lowered the field.

"Curious," Harrison sneered as he stared at her with an intrigued smile. She said nothing and she turned and headed back to the shuttle, followed by her friends and their prisoner.

* * *

She hadn't liked the way their prisoner had observed her. He looked at her like she was an exotic animal and it made her uncomfortable. It wasn't much better once they got back to the Enterprise. They placed him in the brig and Annie remained behind while Jim ran to go get Bones. She took the seat at the control desk.

"You are remarkable," Harrison said once they were gone. Annie tried not to respond as she stared at the controls of the brig. "How long have you been a telekinetic?"

Annie ignored him again, turning away so that she wouldn't see how he was staring at her.

"I always thought no human could survive the radioactive gene splicing required to generate an evolved," he remarked. Annie finally snapped. She turned around in the chair.

"Evolved?" She asked.

"Yes, your abilities are a result of an advanced evolution in your cerebral cells. But no human should be able to survive the experimentation that it would require," he explained. She stood up and walked around the edge of the table. She found herself continuing to walk toward the glass wall.

"I didn't," she answered. "I was dead when they began the process." Harrison sat down and looked at her.

"Of course, you would have needed to be revived first which could have begun the process," he noted. "But even then, it's unlikely that any human could be revived through radiation and not suffer some sort of repercussion."

Annie suddenly thought about her hypersensitivity to radiation; her dizzy spells and, as of late, her headaches and nose bleeds. She unconsciously brought her hand to her face. Harrison chortled.

"I should have noticed sooner. You're dying, aren't you?" He asked. Annie's eyes widened and she took a step back.

"How do you..." She trailed off unable to finish her thought.

"Do they know?" He sneered. "I suspect you have less than a year left. Unless you've done something to accelerate the process. Perhaps, then you have only months." Annie suddenly felt sick. She backed away until she had backed into the control counter, which she gripped tightly.

Finally, Bones and Jim walked through the door with Spock. Bones didn't miss how pale Annie was. He wanted to go to her but he had a job to do. Wordlessly, Annie left the room.

She didn't get far as she collapsed in the hallway. She hadn't given much thought to the symptoms she had been experiencing. It was mainly because she hadn't wanted to but she had never even considered the fact that it was killing her.

She remembered the day that Bones and Jim had come to see her and ask her about the dizzy spells. It had seemed so inconsequential. But now it was real.

And Harrison had said something about making it worse. Her symptoms had worsened after they had gone through the transportation wall on Condan. Annie wrapped her arms around herself as she doubled over. Months, he had said; she only had months, if that.

Annie was too deep in thought to hear the door to the hallway open.

"Annie?" She heard a voice but ignored it. She felt too sick to function. "Annie, what's wrong? What did he say to you?" She finally looked up and saw Leonard kneeling in front of her. She swallowed deeply, leaning back up until she sat on her feet. She wanted to respond but didn't know what to say.

Bones wrapped Annie in his arms. He knew he needed to head back to the medical bay but he couldn't leave her here.

"Dammit, Annie, what did he say?" Annie shook her head and pulled back.

"I-I can't," she finally spoke. "You'll be so angry." He took her face in his hands.

"Annie, I promise that's not possible," he insisted. Annie finally felt a tear slide down her face and Leonard used his thumb to wipe it away.

"I've known all along that it would happen. I mean, the dizzy spells were a dead giveaway but once they started getting worse I should have told you like I promised..." She rambled. He stopped her.

"Wait, getting worse? How? And how long has this been happening?" Annie took a deep breath.

"Nose bleeds and headaches. Ever since Condan. The transporting wall to be exact. Harrison mentioned that it accelerated the process and all this time I didn't think it would happen," she answered.

"Accelerated what process?" He asked.

"Len, I'm dying. My power is killing me. It has been for some time," she whispered. Bones didn't think he had heard her correctly. He felt numb all over. "Please say something." He looked back at her.

"How can you be sure?" He asked but he knew she was right.

"Len, you're the doctor. You've seen the signs too. You know I'm right; that he's right," she said in a weak voice. He felt her begin to tremble and he wrapped his arms around her again.

"We will figure this out, I promise," he assured her. She buried her head in his neck and let him hold her.


	27. Chapter 27

Bones had insisted that Annie accompany him back to the medical bay once she had calmed down. He wanted to keep an eye on her but she had insisted that she was okay. It had finally dawned on her that Harrison had been unusually vested in the torpedoes they had on board. She wanted to go check them out. She also figured that she could check in with Pavel and see how the ship was doing.

When she got to the bay where they were keeping the torpedoes, she realized she wasn't the only one interested in them.

"Carol?" She asked when she saw the blonde inspecting them. "Carol Marcus?" Carol turned around, looking startled until she saw who it was.

"Annie!" She exclaimed. "I forgot you were on this ship!" The girls laughed as they embraced. Annie had met Carol in one of the many meetings she had been a part of with Admiral Marcus and Captain Pike about joining Starfleet. In fact, Carol had been the one to talk her into it in the first place.

"How did we not run into each other before?" Annie asked incredulously. Carol shrugged.

"Big ship?" She offered and Annie laughed.

"You're telling me! So what do we have here?" She turned her attention to the torpedoes. Carol ran her scanner over it.

"You see, that's the question, isn't it? My scanner doesn't even register that there is fuel in the central compartment," Carol remarked.

"May I?" Annie offered. She was by no means a weapons expert but she had a few tricks up her sleeve.

"Of course," Carol answered, taking a step back.

"Do we have any of those tiny cameras?" Annie asked. Carol nodded and handed one to her. Carol held up her PADD so that Annie could watch what the camera was showing.

Slowly, Annie guided the camera into the side panel. She carefully moved it past the wires until it came upon a large container.

"That's it!" Carol exclaimed. Annie tried to maneuver the camera to get a better look but the compartment was too dark and the girls couldn't see much.

Annie couldn't help feeling disappointed. She pulled the camera out and let it drop into Carol's hand.

"It's a good start." Annie nodded and shrugged. Just as she moved to stand up, Jim entered the bay.

"Do you two know each other?" He asked curiously.

"Yeah, Carol and I met when I was joining Starfleet," Annie answered.

"So you knew she was the admiral's daughter?" He inquired. Annie looked at Carol in confusion. She didn't miss the guilty look on her face.

"Of course, why?" She countered. Carol coughed uncomfortably.

"I may have told him my name was Carol Wallace," she interjected. The girls looked at each other and instantly began to laugh.

"When you two are done, I need Doctor Marcus," Jim noted aloud, sounding only a little annoyed. The girls nodded.

"I'll see you around," Annie said, hugging Carol. "Bye Jim." The captain nodded at her.

"I'm going to need you on the bridge in a little bit," he informed her as she left.

"Aye Captain," she replied, exiting the bay.

* * *

She wandered for a bit before she reached the engineering bay. Pavel was running from pipe to pipe trying to stave off the leaking coolant.

"Goodness Pavel, you didn't say it was this bad!" She exclaimed as she rushed to help him.

"It just keeps getting vorse!" He commented. Annie nodded and she ran into the steam to follow him.

"What do we do?" Annie asked as they ran along the pipes.

"Zee coolant leak is on the inside of the pipe. I need to get sealant into the hole from zee inside," Chekov answered. Annie ran over to the container of sealant on the floor.

"If you can get it into the pipe, I can seal it," she said causing Chekov to smile.

"I'm so glad you're here," he said as they set to work. Within minutes the steam began to clear and the levels returned to a semi-normal level.

"That should do it," Annie concluded. Pavel flung his arms around her in gratitude.

"Thank you so much," he said. She ruffled his hair as she pulled away.

"Of course," she replied. "I have to head to the bridge now though. I'll come back to check on you later." Chekov nodded as she left the engineering bay.

* * *

"I think I can work some magic on your missile." was the first thing Annie heard once she made it to the bridge. She recognized the voice immediately but wasn't sure whether she should be concerned that he was flirting with someone else or amused at how badly he was failing.

She made eye contact with Kirk briefly and could tell by his amused smile that the flirtations she had just heard were actually just a small jab between the Captain and the Doctor and she relaxed.

Annie made her way over to Jim and kept her eyes trained on the screen where the vitals of Leonard and Carol were projected.

Suddenly, alarms started going off and their heart rates started to skyrocket. Annie felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Beam them back!" Kirk ordered.

"The ship cannot differentiate between Doctor McCoy and the torpedo. We cannot beam back one without the other," Spock replied sounding as concerned as a Vulcan could.

"Len," she whispered under her breath. She didn't know what to do as she froze in place on the bridge. She felt Kirk divert his attention to her briefly but she couldn't stop watching the heart monitor. Her only reassurance being that as long as it was beeping, however rapidly, the man she loved was still alive.

"Doctor Marcus, can you disarm it?" Kirk asked.

"I'm trying," she insisted.

"Kirk, get her out of here," Leonard yelled. Jim glanced once again at Annie. He could see tears forming in her eyes and knew that there was no way he could beam Carol back alone. Not if she could save his friend's life. "Tell Annie I-"

"No way." Carol interrupted. "If you beam me back, he dies!" Kirk quickly took Annie's hand and squeezed it in reassurance but the girl neither returned it nor gripped his hand back. She simply stood and let him hold it as she continued to watch Leonard's heart beat on screen.

As the timer approached two seconds, it finally stopped and everything was silent. Annie held her breath, waiting to hear what had happened.

"Bones, can you hear me?" Jim asked apprehensively. It was a few moments before the gruff southern voice finally spoke up.

"Jim, you're gonna wanna see this," he said. Jim felt Annie finally relaxed a bit, though she continued to watch the screen. He turned to the small brunette, nudging her chin so that she would look at him.

"He's okay. Come on, let's go see him," he tried to reassure her. She nodded slightly but he could see that her eyes remained unfocused. He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and led her out of the bridge, her fingers still intertwined with his own.


	28. Chapter 28

By the time Bones got back to the medical bay, the adrenaline had worn off and he noticed how badly his left arm hurt. He tried not to show any outward symptoms as he and Dr. Marcus studied the kyrotube in the torpedo.

They explained to Kirk and Spock that the man in the fuselage of the torpedo was, in fact, three hundred years old. That plus the ancient technology used to freeze him meant that there was more to John Harrison than they had originally thought.

Once Kirk and Spock had left to confront Harrison again, Bones finally sat down, nursing his arm slightly. Annie noticed that he seemed to wince as he moved it.

For a moment, Annie remembered what it had felt like, worrying that he wasn't coming back. She remembered how her heart had raced until she thought it might beat out of her chest and he yelled to let him go and save Carol. She almost wanted to cry again but then she remembered he was there, right in front of her and safe.

She quietly picked up a salve they had on hand for deep bruises and a hypospray. She pulled up a chair next to him and he looked at her in surprise. She held out the hypospray, which he took and injected himself with.

She then went to work massaging the salve into his upper arm. He winced for a moment but the pain reliever he had taken numbed most of the pain. She gently worked her hands over the parts of his bicep that had begun to bruise and he took the time to watch her. She concentrated so meticulously when she was working on a patient. She always had.

When she finished, she moved to stand up. He caught her wrist gently. He wanted to ask why she was being so quiet but couldn't think of a good way to ask. So he slid his hand down to hers and squeezed it.

"Thank you," was all he said. She finally cracked a smile as she threw her arms around him. She pulled back to kiss his cheek.

"Please, don't ever scare me like that again," she pleaded. "I don't think I could take it." Leonard was shocked by her request. "I love you," she whispered so that only he could hear. It was the first time she had said it since they had agreed to keep their feelings a secret from the crew. Bones couldn't help but think how good it felt to hear her say it. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her.

"I'm not going anywhere. I promise," he replied and she swiftly returned the embrace.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kirk and Spock were engaged in conversation with their prisoner who they now knew was named Khan. They also knew that Admiral Marcus was responsible for awakening him and for recruiting him as a weapon for his fight against the Klingons. Jim felt he had heard about enough when Kahn mentioned that Jim might know more about Marcus's obsession with weapons than he was letting on.

"She is considered one of his most prized weapons, I've learned. I didn't quite understand until I saw her earlier. She is remarkable, isn't she?" He taunted. Jim turned sharply around, glaring at Khan. Spock looked from Jim to Khan.

"To whom are you referring?" He asked unsure of his meaning. Khan crossed his arms and smirked.

"Admiral Marcus's most prized possession: little Lieutenant Annabelle Cassidy." Spock looked at him in astonishment. He glanced over at Jim whose hands were clenched tightly into fists.

"You don't know anything about her," he seethed. "Leave her out of this." Khan shook his head.

"You see, but I can't. She is just as important in this equation as I am. Part of my research has been on Ms. Cassidy. Trying to understand how an ordinary human child could acquire such extraordinary abilities. Marcus wanted to know if there was a way to control them; control her. Naturally I told him that it was impossible to weaponize another human being but I did discover something rather fascinating," Khan explained. He left off to gauge the Captain and First Officer's curiosity. After a moment Jim let out a small huff.

"What did you find?" He let out in a very controlled breath. He wasn't going to give in but he figured whatever Khan knew might be able to help Annie.

"Naturally she had discovered it on her own, though I suspect it was still a bit of a shock to her when we spoke earlier. I don't think she's quite as prepared for the end as I am," he said. Spock took a step forward.

"What exactly are you implying?" He asked. Khan began to laugh.

"It's a shame her condition is so critical. If only she had worked it out sooner, she'd have more than a few months to live," he finished. As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Jim felt faint. He tried to figure out what to do when Sulu came on over the comm.

"Sir there's a ship headed towards us at warp," he said. Jim was still processing everything as he stammered back.

"K-klingons?"

"At warp?" Khan sneered.

"I don't think so, sir," Sulu responded. Jim sprang into action. He ordered for Khan to be moved to the medical bay and asked that Annie be sent to the bridge. He figured that Khan was best kept, for the moment, with Bones and he needed to see Annie.

* * *

She arrived on the bridge shortly after he had. When the door opened, she saw Jim looked back at her. She wasn't sure why he looked so relieved but she let it go as Admiral Marcus appeared on the screen.

It became clear through the conversation that Marcus was lying about his intentions with Khan. She became worried that the Admiral meant them harm as well. Jim ended the transmission by telling the Admiral that Khan was in engineering but he would have him moved over soon. Annie didn't allow herself to look confused until the transmission ended. Then she glanced at Jim wondering why he had lied to the admiral.

Jim ordered for the ship to go to warp and Annie regretted rushing to the bridge. As the pain hit her, she doubled over and collapsed to the ground. She let out a small whimper until the pain subsided and she could sit up. She quickly realized that the whole bridge was looking at her.

In an instant, Uhura was at her side. She was trying to use a few tissues to stop the bleeding.

"Annie, what happened?" She asked calmly. She looked up at her friend and then at Jim who looked more horrified than surprised.

"No, he can't be right," he whispered and she knew that he knew.

"He can be because he is," she whispered. Uhura looked from Annie to Jim and back.

"Right about what? What don't I know?" She asked. Spock sighed slightly. He didn't want to be the one to tell her but Jim and Annie just continued to be silent.

"Annabelle has an acute sensitivity to radiation," he said. Uhura only looked more confused.

"I know, she gets dizzy spells," she answered. Spock looked astonished that she already knew.

"Was I the last to be informed of such critical information on our personal?" He asked. Uhura stood up to look at him directly.

"Spock, I was the first person Annie told." She turned to look at Annie. "But if I had known it had gotten worse, I certainly wouldn't have kept it silent." Annie finally found her footing and stood up with Uhura's help. She took a deep breath to keep herself from falling apart. She opened her mouth to speak when Carol burst through the door.

Annie was grateful that the attention on the bridge was no longer on her. But suddenly the ship lurched as it was hit and fell out of warp. She fell into Uhura who looked at her in concern.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She whispered. Annie moved to nod but knew it was a lie and shook her head instead. Nyota hugged her friend and Annie realized that her news affected more than just herself. She suddenly felt determined to survive. She turned her attention back to Carol and Jim.

Carol was begging Jim to let her speak to her father but Jim continued to refuse. He wasn't sure why but he felt that he needed, or rather wanted, to protect her. Finally, he relented and she turned to the screen.

The Admiral seemed furious that she had stowed away on the Enterprise and as she threatened to go down with the ship, he remained stoic as he told her it wasn't necessary for him to take her life. The crew watched as the lights began to swirl around Carol.

"Annie!" Uhura yelled drawing attention to her as well. Annie saw the lights too and quickly realized that the admiral hadn't forgotten about her. She felt herself being beamed from the ship.

Jim turned just in time to see her disappear as well.


	29. Chapter 29

"Annie? Annie!" Carol screamed once the girls had reappeared on the transportation pad. She noticed that Annie had fallen unconscious and she rushed to the girl to try to wake her up.

Annie was surprised to wake up at all. She blinked a few times at the blonde as her head cleared. She embraced the blonde out of sheer relief.

"I thought we lost you," Carol said. "What happened?" Annie shrugged slightly.

"Radiation sensitivity," she answered in a matter-of-fact tone. Carol looked skeptical but before she could ask, two security guards had come to collect them.

The girls were led to the bridge of the admiral's ship and Annie was surprised when Carol struck her father. The admiral only ordered that she be kept on the bridge so he could keep an eye on her.

"What about the other girl?" One of the guards asked. The admiral looked Annie over once and smirked.

"She won't be any trouble? Will she?" He asked. She wasn't sure what made her more sick, his wandering eyes or his confidence. She remained silent as he turned back to the screen.

Then Annie noticed that the ship was about to fire phasers at the Enterprise. She knew that the ship wouldn't survive the damage and neither would any of her friends. She knew she had to act fast.

Carefully she began to flip back the switches that were diverting power to the phasers. She almost laughed as the pilot on board tried to figure out why his control board was fighting him.

"What is taking so long?" Marcus sneered in frustration.

"Well sir, I'm not sure. I know I flipped these switches but they keep turning themselves off," he answered. It took Marcus only a few seconds to work it out. Swiftly, he pulled out his phaser and stunned Annie.

"No!" Carol screamed. "How could you do that?" The admiral looked surprised.

"She was interfering with my ship. Now lock phasers and let's finish them," he yelled. The ship had almost completely powered up when the phasers suddenly powered down completely.

"Someone in engineering manually reset our system," one of the one board techs informed. Carol let out a small sigh of relief.

"Who?" Admiral Marcus bellowed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kirk had turned to his crew. He wanted to say something but he wasn't sure what to say.

"Sir, I'm not quite sure what's going on but the ship seems to be stalling itself. Every time it powers up, someone switches it off," Sulu spoke up. Jim moved to look at what Sulu was indicating. Sure enough, every time the phasers reached high levels, they switched off and powered down a little.

"What the hell?" Jim muttered. Spock almost smirked.

"Annabelle is flipping the switches on the bridge. It appears as though she is trying to buy us time," he thought aloud. Jim turned back to the window where he could see the ship.

"Give them hell, Annie," he whispered, hope rising in him. But as soon as he had said it, the meddling stopped and the ship was approaching full power.

"They must have figured it out," Uhura reported sadly. Jim turned to her.

"Is she okay?" He was afraid to ask. Uhura looked at her scanner before nodding in relief.

"Her vitals are still normal," she reported. Jim braced himself for what was coming next until suddenly, the phasers on the opposing ship stopped all together.

The crew was confused before a familiar voice came on over the comm.

"Enterprise. Come in Enterprise," called Scotty. Jim realized that it wasn't such a hopeless scenario as he thought.

Bones was scanning Khan when Jim burst in. He stepped away as Jim began to interrogate Khan. The captain grabbed their prisoner as was about to lead him to the trash chute when Bones stopped him.

"Jim, what the hell is going on?" He asked. Being in the med-bay, he had only heard snippets of what was going on and it didn't paint nearly a complete picture.

Jim realized that Bones didn't know about Annie. He contemplated not telling him but decided that ultimately, it would be a good incentive.

"Admiral Marcus took Annie. He beamed her over when he took Carol. That man is our only chance to save ourselves and her," he answered. Bones eyes grew wide.

"I'll go with you," he offered.

"No Bones, I need you on the bridge to make sure we can do this. I'll bring her back, I promise," he said. Silently he hoped that was a promise he could keep.


	30. Chapter 30

The jump did not go quite according to plan. Once Jim and Khan were on the ship, Bones could only sigh in relief and hope the plan from there worked.

Jim felt the same way. As he regained his bearings, he looked at the Scotsman.

"Khan, Scotty. Scotty, Khan," he introduced. "Scotty, have you seen Annie?" The engineer shook his head in confusion.

"No, should I have?" He asked. Jim wasn't sure if that was good news or not.

"Marcus beamed her aboard with Carol," he said. Scotty suddenly looked like he had figured something out and he smiled.

"That's why the power levels on the ship kept fluctuating! I tell ya, that is one smart lass. A few more minutes and the ship's computer would have seriously malfunctioned trying to keep up with all her switching," he remarked and Jim almost laugh.

"Are you two going to stop reminiscing to find the girl or what?" Khan sneered, pulling their attention back to the matter at hand. Jim and Scotty nodded as they headed off to the bridge.

About midway to the bridge, they ran into several security guards who they easily overtook, though they lost Khan in the process. They found him again just before they reached the bridge.

They charged in, stunning the crew as they took over the ship. Jim noticed that the crew hadn't yet been alerted to their presence. He also saw Annie lying in a heap on the floor. He wanted nothing more than to take out Marcus then but knew they had a job to do.

Jim nodded silently at Scotty, having previously ordered him to stun Khan once they had control of the bridge and the engineer complied. He then ran over to check on the unconscious Annie.

"Is she okay?" He asked, ignoring the Admiral for a moment.

"Aye," Scotty answered. "Just stunned." Jim nodded and turned back to the admiral.

Annie slowly began to wake up. She noticed that it was no longer just her on the ground. Opening her eyes, she saw Jim and Scotty on the bridge as well. She was overwhelmed with confusion but decided to table it for the time being. She only had moments before she saw Khan rise from the ground and hit Scotty. Realizing that Khan wasn't on their side anymore, she hastened to warn Jim.

She threw up a force field around Khan and stood up.

"Annie?" Jim inquired before he saw he rise to her feet.

"I don't recall you listing that as one of your abilities," the admiral noted. Annie stared him down.

"There's a lot about me that you don't know," she answered back. She turned back to Khan but she noticed that the force field looked a little weak. She wondered if her powers weren't weakening along with her body.

"You can't hold it forever," Khan sneered. "Not now that your body's giving out." Annie tried to put on a brave face but she knew he was right. Taking a few shaky steps back, she fell backwards, releasing the field in exhaustion. Luckily, Scotty was able to catch her.

But it left Kirk vulnerable and Khan took advantage. Annie and Scotty watched in horror as Khan broke Carol's leg and killed Admiral Marcus. He knocked Kirk out, leaving him sprawled on the floor. Annie moved to help Carol as Scotty woke up Jim.

"I can set it for you but Len's gonna have to take a look at it," Annie said, looking at Carol. She nodded painfully and Annie quickly moved the bones and fragments back into place. "This should hold." Carol smiled.

"Thank you," she whispered.

"Of course," she replied. She then turned her attention back to Khan who had hailed the Enterprise. He was demanding the return of his crew. A bargain in return for her and her friends. She saw in the background of the transmission her concerned looking friends. She could clearly see the panic on Leonard's face.

Once the torpedoes were on board the ship. Spock spoke up.

"I have fulfilled your terms, now fulfill mine," he said. Khan smirked.

"Gladly, after all, no ship should go done without her captain," he jeered as he cut off the feed. Annie watched as the lights swirled around her friends but quickly noticed that she was not among them. They disappeared and she was left alone with Khan.

Jim, Scotty and Carol reappeared in the brig. Jim immediately noticed that Annie wasn't there. He looked up to see that Scotty and Carol had noticed as well.

"That bastard," Scotty muttered. Just then, Bones came bursting in with a few nurses. They opened the door and the nurses worked with Jim to get Carol to the medical bay.

Bones noticed that Annie wasn't among them but didn't say anything. He knew he would compromise everything going on if he let his true feelings show. Spock's voice came over the comm as he was scanning Carol's injury.

"Prepare for imminent proximity damage," he said. Jim looked at Bones for a moment before the realization hit.

"He armed the damn torpedoes," he guessed. Bones nodded curtly before Jim stopped him. "But Annie's still on that ship!"


	31. Chapter 31

"Why did you keep me here?" Annie questioned.

"Because I find your abilities fascinating," Kahn sneered. "Those mere mortals fail to see your true potential, but I don't." Suddenly the ship lurched and sirens started from every angle.

"Maybe they're not as simple as you thought," Annie retorted.

"No!" Kahn screamed as the ship continued to deteriorate. He rushed over to her and hoisted her by her throat. His hand crushed her esophagus and she struggled to breathe. She felt herself get lightheaded as she clawed at his hand.

Then all at once, he released her. She fell to the ground, coughing and gasping. She could hear him yelling but was trying desperately to get her breathing calmed down.

"You, you'll fix this," he ordered. Annie looked at him in confusion.

"Never," she insisted. He brought his fist down on the control station.

"Your friends are all about to die, they aren't going to be saving you. You're best chance is to do as I say," he continued.

"What part of 'never' was unclear? I would rather die," she said in reply. His hands were back on her throat in an instant.

"You insolent girl, you will stop this ship from crashing or I will kill everyone you ever cared about on Earth. Perhaps I should start with the families of your shipmates," he threatened. Annie would have gasped if she could breathe but as it were, she could only whimper. She thought for a moment but he knew he had won. He let go of her and she immediately began sputtering again.

"Fine, but I can't promise that I can," she admitted.

"Try," he growled. So she turned her focus to the ship. It was massive, she could feel it, and it was falling so quickly. But she focused. She slowly felt the ship level but she knew it was still falling. She focused harder but it was still too big. She began to feel weak, as if all of her energy was draining. She realized not only was she not going to be able to stop it, but she was also going to run herself out of energy before it crashed.

So she did the only thing she could think to do, she let go of the ship. She collapsed from her exhaustion and began to feel unconsciousness grip her. When the ship finally crashed, she blacked out completely.

* * *

Leonard realized when they brought the lifeless body of Kirk into the medical bay, that he hadn't believed it when he had been told that he was dead. But the body was Kirk's and it had no vitals. His stomach dropped farther than he thought possible.

To top it off, the person he needed more than anything else had been captured by a mad man and they didn't know if she was alive either.

He tried to find a distraction, something to dwell on besides everything going on around him. A memory came to light in his mind. He remembered kissing Annie in the torture chamber they now knew she had grown up in. It was such an inappropriate time but he needed something to cling to and the memory of her small, delicate lips on his was the strongest memory he had, and he had already been married once.

He could practically feel her holding his face gently as he grabbed her waist. It was a soft kiss, passionate and full of something he hadn't experienced before. It was something akin to bliss and lightheadedness that he never expected.

He could still hear her gasping and purring.

Leonard snapped straight up. Purring? Then he saw the tribble begin to move. That was it; he knew how to save Jim.

"Get me a kryotube now!" He ordered anyone who would listen. He began making preparations when Sulu came on over the comm.

"We found her. It's a weak signal but we're beaming her up now." Leonard didn't need to ask who Sulu was talking about. He turned to another doctor in the bay and instructed him on what to do with Kirk's body. He reasoned with himself that Annie needed his expertise more now than Jim did.

"Wait!" Carol shouted. "The radiation! From beaming, it could kill her!" Leonard felt his stomach drop again.

"Mr. Sulu wait, don't beam her up!" Scotty shouted into the comm and Bones took off toward the platform. He had a feeling it was too late.

"Mr. Scott, she's already on board," Sulu replied sounding confused.

"Is she still alive?" Carol asked. There was a pause that was too long for Bones. Finally Lieutenant Odyer, the head transport official spoke up.

"Barely," she said and Bones ran impossibly faster.

When he reached the pad, he was exhausted but he wasn't about to stop. One of the ensigns had lifted her off the pad and was about to carry her to the med-bay. Bones paused only to feel her weak pulse before taking her limp body into his arms and running again to the medical bay.

He laid her gently on a biobed and began to check her vitals. He noticed the bruising around her neck and swore he was going to kill Kahn as soon as he had what he needed from him.

He couldn't think of anything to do as he watched her pulse continue to slow. She had been thrown around a lot when the ship crashed but it was only some cracked ribs and a lot of bruising. There was no internal bleeding, nothing to be killing her but he watched as her vitals dropped by the moment.

Then he remembered what Carol had said. _"The radiation"._ He reset the scanner and checked to see her radiation levels. He almost dropped the scanner when he realized her levels were almost as high as Jim's were. The fact that she was still breathing, if only barely, suddenly felt like a miracle.

"Dr. Marcus, how did you know about the radiation?" He asked as he turned to the crew members in the med-bay.

"The experiments that they did on her as a kid, Annie mentioned they used radiation to affect her genetics. And the dizzy spells, the nose bleeds, they always happen when something uses radiation, like the warp core," she explained. "That's why beaming has to be worse than anything."

"Of course," Leonard muttered. "Carol, you're a god damn genius. Okay, I need another kyrotube in case Annie goes before we have a serum made."

"And how much blood is left?" Carol asked.

"Dammit," Bones spat. "None." He reached back over to the comm. "Spock, this is Doctor McCoy. Come in Spock!" He tried but it was futile. He didn't need Sulu to tell him that the comm wasn't working. What he didn't want to hear was that they couldn't beam Spock and Kahn back up.

"Can you beam someone down?" He heard Uhura ask. Moments later she was on the transport and Leonard was standing next to the bodies of his two best friends. He walked back over to where Annie was slowly fading. The only thing they could do was wait.

He took her limp hand in both of his. He brought her knuckles up to his lips and kissed them slowly. He didn't care who saw him now. Not now that he was on the brink of losing her.

He also decided that he would tell everyone how he felt as soon as he saw her eyes open again. He couldn't spend another moment pretending he wasn't madly in love with her. No matter what regulations said.

"We've got him," he heard Uhura suddenly shout from behind him. He turned in time to see Spock more or less dragging Kahn into the medical bay.

"Put him on a bed," Leonard ordered. He immediately set to work making a cure for his friends. He would save them if it was the last thing he did.


	32. Chapter 32

**Well folks, this ends us Star Trek Into Darkness... There's quite a bit more of the story left, don't fret. Also I intend on doing Star Trek Beyond once I finally get the chance to see it.**

 **P.S. I know the "Kahn Super Blood Serum" fix seems both overdone and obvious but in essence Annie and Jim were dying/died of the same thing so that's why it works.**

* * *

Annie woke up first. Bones figured it had to do with her genetics which had more in common with Khan's than he would have liked to admit but it also kept her alive long enough to receive the serum.

He had been making his rounds when his comm went off. It simply said that there was an emergency in room 218. He knew that any emergency was broadcast to all doctors on call and he probably wouldn't be needed but he also knew the room number right away, it was Annie's. He took off down the hallway to where his friend had been recovering.

He burst through the door expecting the worst when he saw her sitting on her bed being scanned by Nurse Chapel.

"Told you he'd run," the nurse snickered.

"Isn't he supposed to rush to emergencies?" Annie laughed as she asked.

"Sure supposed to, but this is Doctor McCoy," Chapel insisted. Annie shrugged and then turned to the stunned doctor in the door.

Leonard couldn't think he was so relieved. He just stood dumbfounded, staring at her. He noticed that she was pale and she still had some discoloration around her throat, but she was sitting up, and smiling, and laughing, and breathing.

"I'll leave you two alone," the nurse said, snapping Bones out of his reverie. He rushed past the exiting nurse and wrapped his arms around Annie's frame.

"You're alive," he choked a little. He realized he sounded adolescent but he couldn't help his relief.

"Len, I'm okay," she whispered pulling away. She placed her hand on his cheek. He reached up with his own hands to take her face in them, wrapping his fingers a little around the back of her head. "I promise."

He wanted to kiss her. He glanced at her lips before looking back into her eyes. He found himself staring at the life in the chocolate brown orbs that looked back at him. He was only thinking about how happy he was to see it and for the second time he simply stood staring at her.

"Are you going to kiss me or what?" She asked quietly, bringing his attention back. He suddenly remembered that he had sworn he wouldn't let anything get between them again. But still he wondered if she would be willing to give up Starfleet for him and he stopped.

She ran her hand down his face to his neck and chest.

"What's wrong?" She asked. Then she dropped her hand entirely and looked away from him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have assumed. I just figured that since we were back, we could go back to the way things were before this whole mess. But it's okay, I shouldn't have assumed." He felt her pull away and realized he couldn't let her go again.

"No, wait," he started. "That's not it." He said causing her to look back at him. "I just... You... I can't be the reason you have to leave Starfleet. It's your home. If they decide we can't be together and work on the Enterprise..." Annie would have laughed if her heart wasn't beating in her chest.

"Len, you are my home. Jim is my home. Even Spock and Uhura. But not Starfleet," Annie insisted. She saw him think for a moment.

"You're sure? Because we could get kicked off the ship and I don't want to-"

"Just shut up and kiss me," she interrupted. Leonard smirked.

"I don't remember you being so demanding," he muttered as he leaned toward her.

"I don't remember you being so hesitant," she retorted before their lips collided.

Annie's arms wrapped around the doctor's neck as he grabbed her waist. He pulled her to him so that he stood between her legs that dangled over the bed. He reached a hand up to tangle it in her hair and she parted her lips to allow his tongue to slide into her mouth. He brought his other hand to her neck and he felt her wince.

He pulled away quickly, looking worriedly at her. She looked back at her but he saw pain in her eyes and began to panic.

"Annie, what's wrong?" He pleaded.

"It's fine, my neck's just a little tender is all," she whispered back kissing him lightly once more. "It's not your fault."

"I should have known better," he muttered.

"Len, you didn't know, it's really not that bad." He finally nodded.

"Let me fix it then," he whispered back. "It is my job after all." She smiled back at him.

* * *

Jim took a deep gasp as he finally woke up. His eyes snapped open and he blinked a few times to adjust to the sudden brightness. He turned his head to take in his surroundings and noticed Annie sitting on the ledge of the desk. She hopped off as soon as he woke up.

"Oh, don't be so melodramatic," Bones said from the other side of his sick bed. Jim turned to look at him quizzically. "You were only barely dead." Annie had to stifle a giggle. "It was the transfusion that really took its toll. You were out cold for two weeks."

"Transfusion?" Kirk asked weakly.

"Your cells were heavily irradiated," Bones explained.

"Khan," Jim guessed. Leonard nodded.

"I synthesized a serum from his super blood. Tell me, are you feeling homicidal, power-mad, despotic?" the doctor joked.

"No more than usual," Kirk replied. Bones snorted a little in response. "How'd you catch him?"

"I didn't," Leonard answered as he moved away to reveal Spock. As the captain and his first officer conversed, Bones took the chance to check on Annie. "And how are you feeling?" He took her face in his hands and looked intently at her neck that had long since healed of its bruising.

"Len," she started, pulling his hands away and holding them instead. "It's been almost two weeks. I'm fine." He smiled as he shook his head.

"I'm just worried, Annie," he whispered. Annie leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

"I know," she replied before turning back to Jim.

"I need to return to headquarters," Spock spoke up. "I will inform them that the both of you are recovering rapidly." He nodded his head toward Annie and Jim and took his leave.

"Both of us?" Kirk asked once the Commander had left. Annie felt more than heard Leonard sigh behind her. But Annie spoke up first to explain.

"It was the radiation on the ship that was causing the dizzy spells. The transportation wall on Condan made it much worse but it would have happened anyway. Luckily, the serum Len made for you, worked on me too." She didn't bother mentioning what kind of shape she had been in when they administered the serum. Kirk nodded slowly and Annie chuckled a little. Then Kirk yawned a little and Leonard stepped forward to press a few buttons on his machine.

"Get some rest, Jim," the doctor ordered. "We'll be here when you wake up. We can talk about all of this then." Kirk smirked a little as he nodded off but not before he felt Annie lightly kiss his cheek.

A couple hours later, Annie was sitting by Jim's bedside as Bones checked the monitors once again. Suddenly her comm went off and she jumped off the chair to get it before it woke up Jim. It was just a reminder message so she shut the comm and moved to grab her jacket.

"What is it?" Leonard asked.

"I have a checkup. I almost forgot about it," she replied. Leonard sighed before he moved to wrap her in his arms.

"I still don't understand why you need to see another doctor when I'm right here," he said. Annie laughed a little before she pressed her lips to his.

"Len, we talked about this. I'm not allowed to see a doctor I'm dating," she explained. "You were the one who cited that regulation to me." Leonard sighed before kissing her temple and letting her go.

"I know, but I don't have to like it," he grumbled. Annie shook her head.

"You have access to my medical records anytime." She kissed him again. "I have to go." She only got one more step towards the door before Bones caught her arm, spinning her back in for another searing kiss.

"I love you," he whispered before he pulled himself away.

"Love you too," she replied before she headed out of the door. Bones watched her go, missing that his own patient was sitting up and watching him.

"So you told her then?" Jim asked smirking. Leonard swung around wide eyed, realizing his friend had witnessed their exchange.

"I-yeah," Bones confirmed as he took a seat by his best friend. "After we got back from Niribu. We just didn't tell anyone on the Enterprise." Jim almost laughed out loud.

"Your idea, I'm sure," he speculated. Leonard relaxed a little as he chuckled.

"Yeah, probably not my best idea," the doctor admitted.

"So you love her?" Jim asked, prying a little. Bones nodded.

"Yeah," he answered.

"Good," the captain replied. "She deserves that." Leonard looked squarely at his friend. He was so relieved that Jim was supportive of their relationship. He hadn't realized until now that he had been nervous beyond belief to find out whether Kirk would allow them to stay together or not. The captain's support was all he needed.


	33. Chapter 33

It was going to be several months before the Enterprise was fully functional again. The crew had been given the time off after everything that had happened with Khan and Admiral Marcus. Bones was packing to return home for a week for his cousin's wedding. He was so busy packing that he didn't notice someone enter his apartment.

"You know, usually when a guy goes home, he takes his girlfriend with him," Jim said causing Bones to stop and look up. He rolled his eyes when he saw who it was.

"I don't remember inviting you in," he grumbled, pushing down on his suitcase to zip it up.

"You're avoiding the issue here Bones. Why did you lie to her? Because you certainly aren't headed to a convention, there aren't any this week," Jim insisted. Leonard sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed.

"Jim, it's complicated. I can't get her involved, not yet," he said. Jim leaned back against the opposite wall.

"Bullshit, if you really love her, then you shouldn't be keeping anything from her," he insisted. Bones shot a frustrated look at his friend.

"Of course I love her. That's why I can't take her with me. It's my family, Jim, they won't understand," Bones replied. "They loved Theresa. She was their idea of perfect: rich, beautiful. They never got over me letting her go."

"They're your family, Bones. They'll want what makes you happy," Jim tried to reason. He sighed when Leonard didn't say anything. "At least tell her the truth. She deserves that." Jim left the apartment before Bones could object again. Leonard sat for a long moment. He knew Jim was right but he wished Jim understood what his family was like. He took a deep breath and stood up, heading over to Annie's apartment.

* * *

"It's unlocked, Len," she shouted when he knocked. He opened the door slowly to find her reading a book on her couch.

"How did you know it was me?" He asked, slightly amused. Annie shrugged, marking the page in her book.

"Jim doesn't knock," she answered very matter-of-factly. Leonard nodded his understanding as he made his way over to the couch. He sat down next to her drawing in an unsure breath.

"Annie, I lied to you earlier about where I was going," he started. Annie set the book down and shifted so that she was sitting on her feet facing him.

"I know, Len," she said softly. She leaned forward and kissed him soundly, cupping his cheek in her hand. "It's okay." He kissed her back for a moment before he pulled back.

"No it's not okay. I should have told you the truth," he replied, looking away from her. Annie sat back on her feet.

"Which is?" She inquired.

"My cousin is getting married next weekend. Southern weddings are something of a massive family event and I have to go," he answered.

"Len, why didn't you just tell me?" She asked, running a hand through his hair. He looked at her with guilt clear in his eyes.

"Because I figured you would want to go with me," he said looking back at the ground. Annie moved to sit on the coffee table in front of him in order to face him.

"Would that be so bad?" She took his hands trying to meet his eyes.

When he didn't respond, Annie couldn't help but feel a little hurt. Her mind began to materialize all of the reasons he might have to not want to take her along. She pulled away and stood up. Turning away from him, she voiced her greatest fear aloud.

"Is it my powers? I know they can be a lot for anyone to handle," she thought aloud. In an instant, Leonard had jumped off the couch and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

"God no, it's not that. Please don't think that," he begged holding her to his chest. She turned around to face him. "My family can be very judgmental and they really liked Theresa. I didn't want you to have to deal with that." Annie shook her head and finally smiled again.

"You don't get it, do you?" She asked. "I'm in this with you. I can handle it. Besides, if I remember correctly, we make a pretty good team. And a really convincing engaged couple." She laughed a little and he smiled in response. He leaned down and kissed her.

"You're right," he whispered. Annie pulled away swiftly, entering her bedroom. She returned moments later with a packed suitcase.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" She asked. Leonard stood dumbfounded looking at her. "What? I figured you would change your mind." She shrugged. She moved to go past him but he stopped her. Wordlessly, he slipped the ring off his finger and handed it to her. She was going to say something but he pressed it into her hands.

"Keep it this time. It suits you," he said kissing her soundly.

* * *

They arrived in Georgia late the next afternoon. It didn't give them much time before dinner and Leonard figured it was for the best to spend as little time at his parents as possible. They had told him they had a place for him to stay so they hadn't bothered to book a hotel room.

Leonard pulled the car up to a large cottage surrounded by a massive farm. Annie ran her hands over her short yellow sundress to smooth it out. An older brunette woman was waiting for them when they got out of the car. Annie noticed Leonard's hesitation and took his hand as they approached.

"Lenny!" The woman cried as she ran to hug him. He returned the embrace awkwardly as if he wasn't sure whether he wanted to or not. "And who's this?" She asked turning to Annie.

"Ma, this is Annabelle Cassidy. My fiancé," he replied. Annie, finally understanding who the woman was, extended a hand to the woman.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. McCoy," she said. The woman knocked her hand out of the way as she moved in for a proper hug.

"You're practically family, Annabelle," she laughed as Annie returned the sudden embrace. "Call me Emily." Leonard chuckled at the sight.

"Please, call me Annie, then. You have a lovely home, Emily," Annie said as his mother finally released her. Emily smiled widely.

"Why thank you, sweetheart," she replied. "Now where has she been all this time?"

"At Starfleet, with me," Bones answered as he took her hand once more.

"Well at least that move was good for something," Emily noted semi-bitterly. "Come on inside, dinner's almost ready."

They walked into the house together and Annie was promptly introduced to the whole family.

"This is my father," Leonard said, indication a tall slender man who was balding slightly.

"Paul," he said as he stuck a hand out. Annie shook it firmly and smiled at him.

"It's nice to meet you," she replied. Leonard then pointed to a young couple in the doorway. The blonde woman was staring at the man fondly.

"My cousin Melissa and her fiancé David. They're the ones getting married," he explained. Annie nodded and shook their hands as well. Bones continued to make introductions until Annie had shaken hands with all of the people in the living room. She was beginning to feel a headache coming on when Emily finally reentered the room.

"Dinner's up!" She exclaimed as all of them started off towards the dining room.

"Everything okay?" Bones asked when he noticed that Annie had stayed behind. Annie smiled and kissed him lightly.

"Yeah, just a lot to remember all at once," she replied. Bones nodded and kissed her cheek.

"Tell me about it," he chuckled.


	34. Chapter 34

**If there was ever a chapter that you could probably skip of this story, it would be this one. I think it's cute and romantic but it's definitely a filler romantic chapter versus an action, driving the plot kind of chapter.**

* * *

After dinner, most of the family left to their respective homes. This only left Bones, Annie, Emily and Paul who sat around the living room talking. Leonard was shocked at how easily Annie seemed to have slipped into the group. He tightened his arm that he currently had around her shoulders and she leaned into him.

"Alright, alright," his mother said suddenly, causing everyone to quiet down. "I think it's time we find out how right for each other these two truly are." Annie felt Bones tense.

"Ma, we really don't have to. No one passes that test you've made up," he insisted. Annie looked in confusion from Leonard to Emily and back.

"Oh hush, it's your grandmother's tradition and you did give that girl your grandfather's ring," she insisted. Annie unconsciously began to twist the ring on her finger.

"I don't mind," she said aloud. Leonard looked at her. "I don't believe in no-win scenarios," she quoted. Bones drew in a deep breath and sighed.

"Wonderful," Emily replied. "Well Annie, the game is simple. There are three questions: two firsts and a last. You have to use as much detail as possible and obviously you can't lie. Naturally, Leonard has to answer them, too. Sound good?" Annie nodded. "Well, alright then. Question One: the first time you met Lenny, what was the first thing you noticed?"

Annie almost laughed aloud. It was a day she would never forget.

"Well, he looked embarrassed. He had just run into me in the quad and he was bending over to pick up my papers. Then he was surprised when the papers flew out of his hands and confused when he realized I had done it," she said.

Bones relaxed a little. He knew his mom would accept that but he was shocked when she didn't stop.

"He had his medical book and notebook in his right hand. His knuckles were white because he was gripping them so tightly. And his hair was just slightly disheveled almost as if he had run his hand through it in boredom during a class. His red uniform was perfectly pressed but he looked like he hadn't shaved in a few days and when he apologized, his brown eyes twinkled with sincerity and concern. That was the first thing I noticed."

"Well I'll be, that was mighty impressive, Leonard do you care to answer back?" Paul asked. Bones was still in a bit of shock but he swallowed shallowly and began.

"The first thing I noticed was how small she was. She was almost six inches shorter than me and tiny as all get out. She looked frightened of everything and embarrassed. And then, when the papers and books flew back to her, she didn't look proud of herself like I thought she would. She looked shy and the way she stared away from us made her look even smaller," he answered.

Annie couldn't help but nod knowing how nervous and shy she had felt that day. Leonard looked down at her leaning against his side.

"But she was beautiful." Annie looked up at him. "She had her curly hair pulled back away from her face but a few strands still lingered out of sort and although she looked nervous, her eyes looked determined and friendly."

Emily looked knowingly at Paul and cleared her throat, causing Leonard and Annie to stop staring at each other and look at her.

"Alright Lenny, question two: the first time you realized you were in love with her, what were you doing?" She asked.

"I was standing in the medical bay of the Enterprise. It was the first actual mission we had ever gone on and I had just finished dragging one of the cadets that was having a reaction to a vaccine onto a bed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her wince, only slightly, and grab onto the nearest stable object. I rushed over to check on her and her eyes didn't immediately focus. I got so worried about her in that one moment that I realized that it wasn't just because she was my friend but because I loved her and I couldn't let anything happen to her," he responded.

"Annie?" Paul inquired. "What were you doing when you first realized you were in love with Leonard?"

"It was May of our first year at the Academy. I had been in exams all day and I hadn't eaten or slept for longer than twenty four hours. I was so tired that I wasn't sure I would make it back to the dorms," she began. Leonard tried to remember what she was referring to. He didn't recall her looking run down and it seemed like such an ordinary day for her to pick. "But I remembered that Len had his clinical that ended right about the time I was getting out so I trudged over to the medical building. He looked tired so I pretended to be well rested to cheer him up and I realized I wouldn't put so much effort into just anyone. I was doing it because I already had fallen in love with him."

Leonard was shocked once again. Of course he remembered that day now. He had been up late studying and although the clinical had gone well, he felt like he had drained all of his energy out of him. She had practically skipped up to him and listened as he told her all about the clinical. It had been hours before they finally went their separate ways. He realized now that she must have been exhausted.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked. Annie chuckled and shrugged.

"You needed a pick-me-up," she said plainly and he kissed her.

"Alright you two, last round," Emily interrupted. "We already know Lenny's answer so this one's for you, Annabelle. Think carefully now. Which lasts forever: Beauty, Strength or Love?"

Annie took a moment to think. The answer seemed simple in her mind but she realized they wanted her and Bones to answer the same. She considered choosing the answer he might pick but remembered Emily's warning not to lie.

"Beauty," she answered drawing shocked expressions from the family members. "Love can fade. Strength can fade. Beauty changes but it doesn't fade. A flower bud is beautiful because of its youth, a flower because of its vibrance and even when it wilts, it's still a beautiful creation for a creature who wants to eat it," she explained. She waited for a moment but no one spoke. She looked up a Leonard who seemed to be deep in thought.

"Well, Lenny, I have to say, I never thought I'd see the day," Emily finally said. "But your little lady here finally passed the test!" Emily ran over and hugged her causing Annie to stand up off the couch. Paul hugged her next.

Finally, Leonard seemed to stop thinking and look at her. Annie took a seat again, this time facing him.

"Should I ask what you're thinking?" She joked a little as she asked. He reached out and took her hand in his.

"You never cease to amaze me," he muttered incredulously. Emily giggled a little.

"Lord knows we never expected anyone to live up to Lenny's expectation. Theresa couldn't remember where she met him let alone get to question three!" She exclaimed causing Leonard to tense. "Wasn't she a ride on the Tilt-O-Whirl?" Bones looked over at his mother.

"I thought you loved Theresa. You were all so angry when the divorce went through," he thought aloud.

"Oh heavens, we weren't mad at you for that! We were mad because we'd miss Joanna and then you decided to run off to Starfleet instead of fight for your little girl. That's why we were mad!" Emily answered.

"Ma, it wasn't like I could kidnap her. Theresa's family has always been better off and her choice of lawyer was a prime example of it," he grumbled in response. Emily moved over to her son.

"Of course we know that now. But can you blame us for being upset when you just disappeared to join Starfleet?" She asked. Leonard thought for a moment before shaking his head. "But it all worked out didn't it? Because now you have her," she said nodding to Annie. "And her I will be upset if you let go of." And she left the room.


	35. Chapter 35

Bones and Annie had been put up in the guest house. Leonard appreciated that they had a whole house to get away from his relatives in.

"I like them," Annie chuckled lying in bed next to him. She was lying on her side to face him, her head propped up by her hand.

"And they like you," he replied. "I can't believe after all this time it was me leaving that they were upset about." He rolled onto his back to stare up at the ceiling.

"Well, sometimes you just have to ask," she winked at him. "I need a glass of water." She leaned over and kissed him before getting out of bed.

Leonard laid in bed thinking about what she said. She was right; if he had just asked his mom in the first place, he wouldn't have been so hesitant to bring Annie along. And that had been the best thing for him. He closed his eyes and was about to fall asleep when he heard a crash of broken glass come from the kitchen. Not sparing a moment of thought, he jumped out of bed and ran into the kitchen.

When he got there, he saw the broken glass on the floor but not Annie. Instead he saw a face he had hoped he would never be confronted with again.

"Ubel," he heard Annie squeak out behind him. He turned and saw that she was standing against the wall looking paler than he had ever seen her. The man took a step forward causing Bones to step in front of Annie.

"How did you get here?" He asked. Ubel began to laugh.

"You honestly thought that blast killed me?" He sneered. Annie finally got over her initial shock and stepped around Bones.

"How did you find me?" she asked, curiosity winning out over her fear. Ubel stepped towards her.

"My dear, I will always be able to find you," he said softly almost as if he was fond of her. Annie shuddered away, taking a step back.

"I'm not your property," she snapped. Ubel seemed to get a little frustrated.

"You forget, I gave you back your life. I made you special. You owe me everything," he sneered.

"I owe you nothing!" She yelled. "I didn't ask you to drag me out of that ship and I certainly didn't ask for everything you did to me on that planet." Annie was shaking and Bones could see it. He took a step toward her, squeezing her hand to let her know he was there. Ubel laughed again.

"So you're in love is it?" He jeered. "Oh how cute. Has he had you yet? Have you let him touch you like I used to?" Annie shrunk back away from him and let go of Leonard's hand. "I didn't think so. Alright. I will give you three days to say your goodbyes. Make them count because you will not be returning for a long time. But make no mistake, I will return and when I do, you will be coming home with me." And he disappeared.

Annie collapsed to her knees gasping for breath in her panicked state. She continued to hyperventilate as Bones crouched down to her.

"Annie, he's gone. You're safe now," he whispered. She finally looked at him, desperately trying not to cry. She shook her head as her breathing began to slow.

"I'll never be safe. Not if he's still alive. And he knows where I am," she choked. Bones was finally confident that she had calmed down and he stood up.

"I'm calling Jim," he announced. Annie looked desperately at him.

"No, it's bad enough you're involved. I can't let anyone else get hurt," she protested.

"Dammit, Annie. They're your friends. That's what they're there for," he countered. "I don't care what you say this time, I'm calling Jim." He promptly left the room to grab his comm.

Jim knew that Bones wouldn't be calling in the middle of the night if it wasn't important. He couldn't imagine what could have happened but he answered immediately anyway.

"Bones, what is it?" He yawned into the comm.

"Jim, we've got a problem. Ubel found Annie and he's coming back for her," Leonard answered curtly.

"Wait hold up. Who's Ubel?" Jim asked. He recognized the name but he couldn't seem to remember where.

"Remember Condan? The creep who took Annie? He's here," Bones replied. Jim almost dropped his comm in shock.

"I thought he was dead," he said incredulously.

"We all did, Jim," came the doctor's reply. "But he's here." Jim thought for a long moment.

"Okay, let me call Spock and Uhura. We can be down there in a few hours," he finally resolved. Leonard sighed a little in relief.

"Alright, I'll tell Annie. Be careful, Jim," he warned.

"I will. Take care of her, Bones," Jim answered before shutting his comm. Leonard shoved his back into his pocket and returned to the kitchen where Annie was still sitting staring at the floor.

"Hey," he breathed as he knelt back down to her. "Jim's on his way. He's bringing some of the crew too. I promise we're going to fix this, all of us."

Annie nodded slightly. She was done arguing that she had to do it on her own. She knew that Leonard wouldn't let her.

"Come here," Leonard invited opening his arms for her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "We're gonna be okay." Annie pulled away enough to look him in the eyes.

Annie was overwhelmed by the concern that she found in them. Slowly, she leaned up and kissed him. It was tentative at first as she slid her hands to his face but as he held her closer, she moved her hands to his hair and he deepened the kiss. Moments later, he had shifted so that his hands were splayed on her back as he leaned over her, causing her to shift so that she was lying under him. He pulled away, realizing they were still on the kitchen floor.

"We should go back to bed," he said, panting slightly. She sat up and nodded sheepishly. When they got back to the bedroom, Annie stopped him.

"We don't have to stop," she whispered barely loud enough for him to hear. He turned around and looked at her.

"Annie," he started but couldn't find words to continue. He saw that she was entirely serious. "You're sure?" He asked. Taking a step toward him, she reconnected their lips.

"Yes," she answered before he captured her mouth, picking her up and laying her on the bed.


	36. Chapter 36

Annie woke up early the next morning snuggled against Leonard's naked chest. She rolled out of bed and, after slipping back on her sweatpants and t-shirt, made her way to the kitchen.

She realized that they had left the broken glass on the floor and she set to work cleaning up her own mess.

She tried not to think about the reason she had dropped the glass in the first place. Seeing Ubel's face again had almost been too much for her. So instead she focused on what had happened after. She had expected to be more frightened and perhaps more hesitant. But whenever something had reminded her of Ubel, she simply stopped and thought about the man she was actually with and her hesitations would fade away.

A knock on the door broke her out of her thoughts. She tossed the broken glass in the trash and unlocked the door to open it.

"Jim!" She exclaimed, hugging him. As worried as she was about getting her friends involved, she was relieved to see him. He moved out the doorway so that Spock and Uhura could enter behind him.

"Where's Bones?" Jim asked, looking around.

"Right here," a southern voice grumbled from the kitchen entrance.

"Come on in," Annie invited. Everyone gathered in the living room.

They took seats around the room, sharing worried glances as they did so. Bones held Annie close as she told them the story of what had happened.

"He said he would return in three days," she finished. "And to say my goodbyes because I wouldn't be returning for a long time."

"What does that mean?" Uhura asked.

"His statement precludes that he will be returning Annabelle to Earth in the future; however, we can assume that it will be in the state that he had originally intended," Spock noted aloud.

"A weapon for the Klingons," Jim added for him. Everyone turned and looked at Annie. Uncomfortable in their gaze, she wished she could shrink from view. Bones felt her shift in discomfort and tried to draw the attention away from her.

"So what do we do?" He asked no one in particular.

"Well, we have three days," Uhura offered. "Counting today, that gives us until Saturday." Bones tensed.

"Damn," he muttered. Jim looked up at him sharply in confusion.

"Why? What's Saturday?" He asked.

"The wedding," Annie finally spoke up. She stood up out of Leonard's arms and walked over to stare out the window. She turned around laughing bitterly. "I shouldn't have come after all." Bones sat up to go to Annie but Jim was closer and nodded to him as he embraced their friend.

"You know that's not true. God forbid this had happened while you were alone," he assured her. "Besides, who would have charmed Bones's parents?" He felt Annie chuckle slightly in his arms. Pulling away, he kissed her lightly on her temple.

She finally turned to face the rest of the group but still continued to wrap her arms around herself.

"So what is the plan?" She finally completed Bones's question. Jim thought for a long minute.

"Well, first things first, you and Bones have to go on as if nothing has happened. You're here for a wedding and that shouldn't change now," he offered. Uhura nodded.

"I agree. I think it would also be best if Spock, Kirk and I stayed away for the next couple days. On Saturday we can monitor you both from a hotel so when he does come, he doesn't plan for all of us," she strategized.

"An astute plan, Nyota," Spock said. "We can use the wireless ear comms to communicate but I agree, for the time being, laying low is our best option." Bones stood up.

"It's settled then. Business as usual until he returns," he confirmed. Jim clasped him on the back reassuringly.

"We'll get him," he said, though Annie suspected it was for his own benefit as well.

* * *

It was almost nine when Jim, Spock and Uhura finally left the house. They made promises to meet up early Saturday morning to ensure everything was in place. Then Uhura and Spock would return to the hotel and Jim would remain nearby just in case. For the first time in nearly twelve hours, Annie finally felt like she could relax.

Annie spent the next day getting to know Leonard's family more. She spent several hours in the gardens with Emily before Melissa asked to steal her away. She insisted on buying Annie a dress for the occasion. Annie attempted to decline but the bride claimed "Southern Hospitality" and Annie found herself out of excuses.

Bones was waiting for Annie when she got back to the house. He wondered where the dress was that Melissa had taken Annie out to get in the first place but she laughed as she told him that the bridesmaids had taken it, insisting that it meant she had to get ready with them in the morning.

"They're all very lovely people," she added, chuckling to herself. Leonard relished in the fact that Annie looked so happy and content.

"Well, I'm glad you had fun," he laughed himself as he kissed her. It was meant to be a chaste kiss but upon pulling away, Bones noticed her looking intensely at him. He leaned back in for another kiss, this time holding her to him.

He gently ran his tongue over her lips and she opened them, letting him enter her mouth. He brought his hands to grab her waist and pull her towards him as she wound her arms around his neck. His mouth left hers to trail down the side of her jaw and neck, leading her towards the couch as he did so. She felt the solid piece of furniture against the back of her legs and almost tripped as he continued to kiss at her collarbone, advancing still.

He kissed back up to her mouth as she fell backwards. His strong arms gathered her up and laid her down gently on the couch as he laid down nearly on top of her. She felt his hands under her working at the zipper on her dress. She leaned up slightly so that he had room to maneuver his hands.

He stopped kissing her for only a moment, looking into her eyes to confirm that she wanted to continue. She smiled fondly at him and ran a hand over the side of his face.

"I love you," she whispered. It was all he needed to hear as he recaptured her lips and set to work unzipping her dress.


	37. Chapter 37

When Annie arrived at the chapel Saturday morning, Bones was getting nervous. He knew that Melissa and the bridesmaids had wanted Annie to get ready with them but any amount of time she spent away from him on that third day him made him worry.

The car finally pulled up in front of the chapel and all six women climbed out of it. The last of them to leave the car was Annie who was laughing with the rest of them. She glanced at the entrance to the chapel and, upon seeing Bones shifting on his feet, beamed widely.

Bones nodded at each of the women as they passed until Annie was the only one left. He couldn't help the smile that rose to his face at seeing her look so happy.

"Well, what do you think?" She asked, twirling in her mint green dress. The skirt flared out as she spun and she giggled in excitement. He couldn't help staring at her with her curly hair carefully pinned up and her makeup was minimalistic and elegant. She looked like a princess.

"You're beautiful," he answered. He kissed her sweetly. Suddenly, Jim's voice boomed in their ears.

"Alright, Bones, Annie, can you hear me?" Jim asked into their earpieces. Leonard sighed audibly as it startled them.

"Dammit, Jim. That's a bit loud, don't you think?" He grumbled, adjusting the small plastic piece. Annie laughed in amusement.

"Sorry," Jim replied not sounding at all sincere. Bones rolled his eyes and held out his arm for Annie to take.

"Shall we?" He asked and she nodded, taking his outstretched arm.

The ceremony was short but very beautiful. Annie couldn't help but marvel at how intimate and family oriented everything seemed. The weddings she had gone to in California had always been big, extravagant affairs and, somehow, this seemed much better.

The reception followed closely behind and Bones was perfectly content to just sit and watch everyone else dance. He was simply grateful that nothing had happened with Ubel yet, even if it made him more anxious by the minute.

"Aren't you going to dance with your lady?" Melissa asked as she came up to their table. Annie blushed a little.

"Oh, it's okay. Len's not really one for dancing," she replied sheepishly. Melissa shook her head.

"Oh I don't think so. This is my wedding and y'all are going to dance with the rest of us!" She exclaimed, pulling Leonard and Annie to the dance floor. Annie shrugged as Bones rolled his eyes.

"My family," he muttered but took Annie's waist anyway as she placed her hand in his.

"I'm glad we did this," Annie whispered now that they were on their own. "Your family has been so kind and it's so beautiful here." Leonard nodded.

"I'm glad you talked me into this," he replied. They swayed together for a while, her head resting on his chest, before Annie pulled away and looked back up at him.

"Len, I have to tell you something and I need you not to freak out," she started tentatively. Leonard looked concerned but nodded for her to continue. Annie stopped dancing and pulled a small vial out of a fold in the bodice of her dress. "If something happens to me tonight-"

"Annie!" He interrupted in shock. "What the hell are you thinking?" He reached out to grab the vial from her but she turned to avoid him and slipped it back into her dress.

"I can't let him take me alive, Bones. I won't do it. If he manages to catch me, I'm going to do it," she finished, looking at him with resolve. She took a step back towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him on the cheek. "I need you to know that, no matter what happens, I love you. More than I thought I ever could love someone and I'm glad we got this chance, these moments, to be together." Leonard couldn't find anything to say as he wrapped his own arms around her waist and pulled her toward him. "Len, say something," she whispered weakly.

"I love you, too. But he's not going to get you. Okay? I promise." Annie nodded and he kissed her to prove he meant it. He wasn't going to let anything happen to her.

"Thank you," she replied when he pulled away. He smiled down at her as he pulled a hand away from her waist. He took her hand with it, leading her off the dance floor. She followed him until they had walked a fair way away from the outdoor reception.

Finally he stopped and let go of her hand as he turned to face her. He dug into his jacket pocket and pulled out an object Annie couldn't quite see.

"I wasn't sure when to do this but I think now would be the right time," he said. "I've realized these past few days that we don't know how long we still have together and I don't want to waste another day of that without you. I want you, all of you, no matter what happens." He finally opened the box that Annie could finally see to reveal a small silver ring with a single diamond set into it. "I want you to be my fiancé. For real, this time, and then my wife. So will you, Annabelle? Will you marry me?"

Annie didn't hesitate as she threw her arms around him.

"Yes!" She exclaimed. "Of course I will!" Leonard let out the breath he was holding. He returned her embrace and couldn't help how happy he felt holding her. It almost made him forget the circumstances they were currently in. He kissed her soundly, holding her small frame to himself.

When they pulled away, Annie carefully slipped the dark metal band from her left to her right hand and held out her left for Leonard to slide the silver ring onto it. He held her close as they rejoined the party and even danced to a few more songs before the end.


	38. Chapter 38

Once the reception was over, they said their goodbyes before heading off in the direction of the guest house. Midway, they were joined by Jim.

"Well, that was uneventful," he marveled a little.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Leonard retorted. Annie glanced up at both of them.

"I don't know. I think I'm with Jim. I think I would rather it all be over," she thought aloud. Bones snapped his attention back to her. Of course he felt the same way, he was just grateful she was still there. He hoped she knew that. He took her hand and when she squeezed his in response, he knew she understood.

"Oh it will be, very soon," the voice they had been dreading all night sneered. The trio turned around to face him. "You didn't think I would ruin a wedding, did you? What kind of person would I be?" Annie took a step towards him.

"Yourself," she spat. Swiftly, she spun wind and dirt around him until it formed into a twister. She felt him fighting back but she held strong. "Shoot into it," she ordered Jim and Bones. They nodded and held up the phasers they had been concealing all night.

She kept up the wind up for a few more moments until it suddenly shot in a wave back at them. It knocked her off her feet as she flew backward tearing her dress as she skidded across the ground. She saw that it had blown Leonard and Jim over as well. She jumped back to her feet in time to dodge some stones that were headed in her direction.

"I'm not coming with you, Ubel. It's over," she insisted fiercely.

"Oh, we'll see about that," he retorted. Shots suddenly rang out from Jim and Bones once again. This time, Ubel threw up a force field to deflect the shots before casting the guns far away from their previous owners.

Ubel began to laugh.

"Of course, you silly humans always opting for your phasers," he laughed. "So very typical."

Annie chose that moment to send a large boulder towards him from behind. It connected with him but only caused him to tumble a few feet.

"Better," Ubel jeered. "But not good enough." Bones saw the glimmer of metal before Annie did. He never stopped to think as he dove at her, knocking her down as the knife sliced across his back.

"Bones!" Jim exclaimed as Annie turned to see him fall to the ground. She crawled over to him to make sure he was okay. He winced but nodded to show he was fine.

Annie turned back to look at Ubel. She sent some nearby logs at him. As he deflected them, she recalled the phaser and shot him. He fell back stunned as the logs unfortunately collided with Jim, rendering him unconscious.

Annie glanced back at Bones who had passed out as well. She realized she was alone with Ubel.

"Well, my dear," he started as he rose back to his feet. "It's just you and me. Time to bring you back home."

"No!" Annie yelled.

In the span of a second, she sent the knife that had been lying next to Bones at the still recovering Ubel and embedded it into his stomach. He doubled over in pain. Annie stood up and waited to see what Ubel would do next. Blood poured out of the wound she had created and he looked at her with contempt.

"You're not strong enough to take me against my will," she said. Ubel scowled.

"You may be right," he admitted. "But I won't have to take you against your will. Because tonight at midnight, you're going to meet me here on your own." Annie would have laughed.

"What makes you so sure?" She asked.

"Your fiancé has a daughter, doesn't he? A poor little six year old. The same age you were when I found you. It would be a shame if she were to disappear instead." Annie felt her stomach fall as her knees gave out.

"How?" She started to ask but she realized there were too many ways to finish the question.

"My dear, I know everything about you. So what will it be?" He asked. Annie took a deep breath.

"Fine. Midnight and no one else gets hurt," she agreed quietly. She looked back at Bones as Ubel faded away.

"Excellent," was the last thing he said. As Annie moved over to check on Bones, she finally saw Spock and Uhura standing behind her.

"Annie," Uhura squeaked out flushing completely pale. "I'm so sorry. We came as soon as we got the distress signal." Spock stayed silent as he helped her lift Bones up and get him back into the house. They laid him down on his stomach and Annie set to work cleaning the cut across his back. He began to stir so she gave him a sedative and finished bandaging him. She kissed his cheek lightly before standing up.

Slowly, she changed out of her ruined dress and into her Starfleet uniform. She figured if her friends were going to find her body, it should be in her uniform. She had just left the house when someone stopped her.

"Annabelle, I must object," Spock said, stepping out of the shadow. Annie sighed and turned to face him.

"I figured you had heard the deal," she admitted. "But then you must know why I have to go." Spock shook his head.

"Why did you not inform the captain? And why did you sedate Doctor McCoy? They could both have assisted you," he tried to understand. "The logical thing would have been to consult them."

Annie shook her head.

"They would insist that I stay. Or do something rash to get themselves killed. You saw Len, he's in no shape to be taking on anyone," she insisted.

"He will be distraught to learn of your plan," Spock said. Something in his voice made Annie feel that he meant more than just leaving. Made her reach for the small clear vial in her pocket.

"How did you know?" She asked, pulling it out. She turned it in her hand to inspect it.

"It was only logical that you would plan to take your own life. It would be less painful than dying in the crash you intend to orchestrate," he explained. Annie stopped short and stared at him in shock. She took a moment to recover and turned away from him.

"I have to do it Spock. I have to do it for Len. Me, he could live without. Who knows, perhaps in another reality, we never met anyway. But losing Joanna would kill him. I can't be the reason he loses her and I certainly can't let anyone else go through what I did. This is my one chance to end this," she resolved. Spock nodded.

"About that, I cannot argue," he agreed. Annie sighed in relief and hugged him. He stood awkwardly for a moment but returned her embrace.

"Thank you," she said. She turned and took off into the night. Spock watched her go before reentering the house.

"Did you do it?" Uhura asked when he entered. He held up the vial to her which she took. "Thank you, Spock," she whispered as she kissed him. "I just hope our plan works."


	39. Chapter 39

"Bones, wake up. Bones come on, wake up. She's gone!" Jim shook Leonard's shoulder violently, careful only enough to keep from ripping the stitches Annie had made. Bones groaned as he finally regained consciousness.

"Dammit, Jim. What the hell is your problem?" He grumbled. "Who's gone?"

"Annie, she left while we were unconscious!" Bones jumped up, much to the dismay of his aching back. He reached for a pain reliever and injected himself with it. He threw off the covers and climbed out of bed after Jim.

They were met with the very guilty looking Uhura and Spock in the living room.

"Where is she?" Bones exclaimed. Jim had to hold him back. "Where is Annie?" He finally calmed down and sunk to his knees. "Please, tell me she's okay."

"She is, currently, still alive," Spock answered.

"You knew?" Bones said. Uhura couldn't help but feel guilty at the pain in his voice. She sat down next to him.

"We knew," she corrected. Bones glanced at her before he put his head in his hands. He felt like his whole world was crumbling.

"Why would she do that?" He asked no one in particular.

"He threatened to take something she could not afford to lose," Spock replied. "Your daughter." The room stilled and no one spoke for a while.

"You have a daughter?" Jim asked. Leonard nodded.

"Joanna, I took Annie to meet her a while ago. She promised not to tell you until I was ready to tell everyone," he whispered. Jim nodded his understanding.

"Annie was always looking out for everyone," he said. Uhura stood up in anger.

"Why are we talking about her like she's already dead? She's still alive, isn't she?" She exclaimed. Bones shook his head in defeat.

"If she is, she won't be for long. She's been carrying poison on her all day. She won't let him take her alive," he replied.

"I do think you meant to say that she was carrying poison on her person all day," Spock countered holding up the vial he had snuck off her person. Bones jumped to his feet and took the vial from him.

"What does she have then?" He asked, inspecting the glass tube.

"I believe it is referred to here as 'The Juliet Serum'," Spock answered. Bones almost choked in relief. "Though I am unsure as to why it has acquired such a name. It will render the victim unconscious and to anyone who is to check, she would appear dead. But she will recover in an hour or two," Uhura opened her mouth to explain but shut it knowing it would take too long.

"So what do we do now?" Jim asked. Spock looked at him a smirked.

"Follow me."

Annie pulled against the cuffs secured to her wrists. Ubel had tied her down as soon as she had stepped onto the ship. She didn't see the point as she warped the metal to release her hands but she figured it was a stall tactic.

She waited until the ship had nearly reached Condan. Then she set to work splitting the wires in the control panel, envisioning them splitting in her mind. She silently thanked Scotty for the extra engineering lessons he had given her whenever he found her wandering the ship at night. She came to the last wire and pulled out the vial from her pocket.

As soon as she felt it split, the alarms on the ship began to blare. Ubel looked in disbelief as the monitors showed that the shuttle had lost power and would imminently crash, if it didn't burn up upon reentry to the atmosphere. He realized that with the added gravity, neither he nor Annie would survive the crash.

"You stupid child!" He roared as he turned to her. "Do you realize what you've done?" Annie stared back at him.

"I know exactly what I've done," she answered. She swiftly drained the vial in her hand and in an instant slumped to the ground, motionless and pale.

"No!" He screamed. He checked her body for a pulse but found none. She wasn't breathing and Ubel knew she was gone. He turned back to the monitors and watched as the ship deteriorated. He counted down the moments until the ship made its final collision. In his despair, he failed to notice Annie being beamed from the ship.

* * *

Bones was waiting by the transport pad when they beamed her out. It was a small shuttle but he wanted to make sure he was the first one to her.

"Five seconds to impact," Spock announced. Bones counted down in his head as Annie began to appear. He had just gotten to one when the beaming process stopped. He scooped up her unresponsive form and laid her down on a sick bed in the back of the shuttle.

"Any life signs?" He heard Jim ask. They waited for Uhura to scan the ship.

"No captain. Ubel has been terminated," she confirmed. Bones breathed a sigh of relief as he waited for Annie to come back. Slowly but surely, her vitals returned to normal. By the time they had reached Earth's atmosphere, she was beginning to wake up.

"Len?" She asked in shock once she registered her surroundings. "You can't be. I'm supposed to be-"

"Dead, I know," he said, shushing her. "But you're not. Spock switched out the vials."

"But the ship. The crash should have killed us," she retorted.

"We beamed you off the ship before it crashed. He's gone, but you're safe," he assured her. She finally smiled and hugged him.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I didn't have a choice. He threatened to take Joanna..." He cut off her rambling by kissing her.

"I know," he replied. "Spock told us everything." Annie nodded pulling him close.

"Thank you," she said softly. Leonard almost laughed in disbelief.

"God, no. Thank you. You risked your life for Joanna. I could never repay you for that," he responded back.

"You could kiss me," she offered. Leonard smiled down at her.

"Gladly," he whispered back, recapturing her lips.


	40. Chapter 40

**Well alright folks. We've reached the end of our story... I know but the good news is once I've finally gotten to see Star Trek Beyond, I will be adding on to this story. Thank you all for sticking with me and this story! Y'all rock and I hope I can update again soon!**

* * *

They were preparing to take off on their five year mission.

"Cheer up Bones," Kirk jabbed as he clasped his friend on the back. "It'll be fun." Annie had to laugh that her friend had to fight to contain his enthusiasm. Jim grinned from ear to ear as he checked on each station.

Bones, however, looked far less enthused.

"Five years in space, God help me," he remarked as the captain strolled away. Annie snuck up behind him.

"I don't know, I think it depends on the company," she commented. He swung around and grabbed her by the waist, kissing her firmly on the mouth as he did so.

"Well, I guess it won't be all bad," he noted, kissing her again. Annie giggled as she moved to check on her own station. By the time she sat down, they were ready to warp. Kirk gave the order as Mr. Sulu moved the gauge.

As soon as the lights began to blur in the display, so did Annie's vision as dizziness over took her. She closed her eyes and brought her hand up to her head to steady herself. When she opened her eyes, she was grateful to see that no one had caught her reaction.

No one but the young navigations officer who happened to glance her way as the ship took off. Chekov looked worried for a moment, but he shook it off for the time being, making a mental note to talk to Annie later.

When he finally got off shift, it was nearing dinner time. He found Annie heading for the dining hall.

"Can ve talk for a minute?" He asked pensively. Annie looked surprised for a moment but nodded with a resigned sigh.

She followed him to an abandoned hallway that people rarely used. He stopped, unable to figure out what to say.

"You figured it out, huh?" Annie started for him. He looked at her with concern.

"Annie, I thought it vas gone. The serum..." He trailed off.

"Worked. It did what it was supposed to: lower the radiation levels in my cells. But it didn't fix the underlying problem. I'm still sensitive to radiation," she explained. "I knew when I woke up." Chekov thought for a moment.

"But if you're still sensitive to radiation, then that means," he stopped looking a bit horrified.

"That eventually my body will give out again," she finished.

"Could you just keep using the serum?" She suggested sounding almost too hopeful. Annie sighed.

"I could. I guess I could live off the serum for a while but it would be like receiving treatment for a terminal disease. Eventually, it would only be the serum keeping me alive. Not me," she answered.

"Then you shouldn't be on the ship," Chekov insisted. He turned to go find the captain but Annie caught him.

"No, you can't tell anyone. I'm trusting you with my life right now," she said.

"But Annie, a five year mission. You may not make it back," he tried.

"But what's my alternative? Spending five years alone? With no one I know just to squeeze a few years out of a body that passed its expiration date long ago?" Pavel seemed to take this in for a moment.

"I don't vant to lose you," he whispered honestly. "And Kirk and Bones. Ze vill be so mad if they found out I knew."

"They don't need to. This is my secret. I shared it with you because I trust you and I care about you. I needed to be able to talk to someone about this and you're the only one who won't lose their head. Please Pavel, do this for me," she pleaded. Chekov threw his arms around her.

"I vill. But I vill tell them, if it gets too bad," he answered.

"That I can live with," she replied. He hugged her once more before heading off down the hallway.

Annie leaned against the wall for a moment to collect her thoughts. The truth was that she hadn't known until then that the serum hadn't completely cured her. She was skeptical but figured it was more paranoia than fact.

But she had been right all along. The serum had been like hitting the reset button on the past few years of radiation poisoning. It would buy her some time, but not a lifetime.

She finally decided to join everyone else and started toward the dining hall.

"What was that about?" She heard Bones ask behind her. She suddenly worried that he had heard what she said. She turned to face him but saw that he only looked curious, if not a little amused. Not the reaction she would expect if he knew her secret.

"What?" She asked innocently. He smirked as he advanced on her.

"You and Chekov," he answered, chuckling. Annie shrugged.

"He's just a bit nervous about five years in space. Maybe you should talk to him," she lied. It wasn't completely false and it seemed to satisfy his curiosity.

"Alright, maybe I will," he said before kissing her lightly. She smiled and took his hand.

"Come on, I'm hungry," she complained as she dragged him to the dining hall. Bones rolled his eyes but followed her down the hallway. He couldn't help but enjoy these little moments after watching her almost die. He was grateful that the serum worked, that Ubel was gone and that one day soon, she would be his wife.


End file.
